Attorneys who specialize in intellectual property issues in the sports industry are taking a page from the teams that they protect.
Last month, the Copyright Alliance, a coalition of major entertainment industry groups, announced the creation of a legal advisory board, whose mission is to foster closer collaboration with law firms representing the Alliance’s institutional members and other copyright owners.
More specifically, the board is expected to help “advance copyright strategy, and develop a variety of projects and programs, including providing assistance to individual artists and creators; hosting educational events and webinars; expanding work with law schools and young lawyers; and contributing writing and research.”
The board is comprised of 14 founding members: Loeb & Loeb LLP; Jenner & Block LLP; Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP; Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP; Covington & Burling LLP; Crowell & Moring LLP; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; Proskauer Rose LLP; Kendall Brill & Klieger LLP; Arnold & Porter LLP; Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP; Shearman & Sterling LLP; Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP; and Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard LLP.
Robert Garrett, a partner at Arnold & Porter, was optimistic about the impact the board can have, but cautioned that it will be “a work in progress.”
“It remains to be seen what role the board will play,” he told Sports Litigation Alert. “But when you bring more than a dozen law firms together, who share clients with similar interests, the potential is there. It could become a valuable resource.”
Garrett added that the time is right for such an initiative.
“Intellectual property issues are becoming an increasingly important issue for the sports industry,” said Garrett, whose firm has represented Major League Baseball for more than two decades. “One of the drivers for this is the varied ways that consumers can watch sports content. These are the same kinds of issues that entertainment lawyers have faced for years.”
Barry Slotnick, a partner and chair of Loeb & Loeb’s IP and Entertainment Litigation Practice Group, added that his firm is “looking forward to interacting directly with The Copyright Alliance to develop and share information and analysis of the critical legal issues facing copyright owners. We are also especially excited about the opportunity to develop educational programs for the policymaking community and for future attorneys.”
Copyright holders also welcomed the development.
“NASCAR fans are among the most brand-loyal in all of sports and we take pride in the fact that more Fortune 100 companies are involved in NASCAR than any other sport,” Karen Leetzow, deputy general counsel-vice president for NASCAR, told Sports Litigation Alert. She added that NASCAR strives to “provide great value to our official partners and licensees who use our brand and our bar mark to drive awareness, usage and trial of their products or services. NASCAR is the sport that works for business, and as such, we work vigorously to protect our intellectual property.”
