Have you ever found yourself needing to sign up for multiple streaming services just to find the shows you want to watch? These costs add up extremely quickly, and with rampantly rising costs of streaming, suddenly the price of eggs isn't your biggest worry. It is this concern that providers want to capitalize on. DirecTV, Xfinity, Spectrum and more offer streaming bundles intended to fix this problem. They offer their specific platform with thousands of channels along with access to other subscription services. You can pay one price for all the content you want - no exceptions. Except there are  exceptions. Streaming services are protective of their intellectual properties, or IPs. When they provide access to their services as part of these bundles, they are effectively lending over their property through licensing agreements. When these licensing agreements fall apart, we have what's known as a carriage dispute - where neither party agrees on who has the right to "carr...

In my last article, I mentioned that E-Sports leagues are largely at the mercy of their intellectual property (IP) holders - usually, the creator of the game. For some games, such as the platform fighter series Rivals of Aether , battle royale game Fortnite , and more, their developers actively encourage a competitive scene to play and stream their game to their heart's content. Other developers aren't so generous. Title 17 of the U.S. Code covers what is considered a copyrightable work and the protections afforded to their owners.  17 U.S.C § 102(a) defines copyright protection as "original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression." Video games are amalgamations of various IPs, from the musical score accompanying a playthrough, to the specific character models designed for the game, to the written code behind everything. From a business perspective, it's easy to see why developers want to protect their games so heavily. Sometimes, however,...

  This past weekend was the 2025 NFL Draft, taking place in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Although we have yet to see these rookies in action, many fans are already speculating how these players will perform in the upcoming NFL season.  Yet, the glitz & glamor doesn’t end at the big stage. The real magic happens at the negotiation table, when contracts need to be drafted by the players’ respective teams. In fact, numerous incentives, required provisions and back-and–forths are needed before their future stars sign the dotted line.   Let’s dissect what’s included as part of an NFL rookie contract. Source: https://www.nfl.com/draft/ Pre-Draft Conversations There is no requirement for any draft player to go with the team that selects them. If they reject their offer, they’ll go back into the draft pool - unless they are traded. They don’t have a say on which team they want, but discussions often happen weeks before the draft.  Teams and agents become aware of these...

In 2021, leading up to his fourth studio album, LP!, rapper JPEGMAFIA dropped “HAZARD DUTY PAY!” on YouTube with one, powerful line in the description: “couldn’t clear it. :(“ . Although this line was eventually removed upon the official Spotify release of the  track, these three words serve as the bane of independent music artists within hip-hop and beyond. Sampling takes a piece of one song to turn it into something new, and was considered a sign of respect when it was popularized in hip-hop, as stated by Sebastian Mahul. Unfortunately, copyright law disagrees - rather, it doesn’t mention anything remotely close to sampling, leaving it to the courts to fight over the issue for decades.   What needs to be done is to include sampling as a protected practice within copyright law. This would back up decades of culture surrounding the art, and allow for full-fledged creativity free of any restrictions. It would be a win for independent artists, and a win for the music landscape...

The entertainment industry is complex. Very complex. There are plenty of articles that expose the hardships associated with the entertainment industry. One example is the ongoing voice actor strike , impacting studios such as Activision Blizzard and Epic Games in protest of AI and unfair compensation. Another example is the conflict between law and soccer, as incidents such as the corruption behind the 2022 FIFA World Cup have turned entertainment to politics. It can even hit closer to home with your favorite music artist! They’re not safe either, as the lawsuit levied against Ed Sheeran in 2023, albeit not successful, puts into question the legality of simple chord progressions. My name is Sebastian Lorenzo. I’m an aspiring law student who is deeply passionate about entertainment law. The scope defined by the word “entertainment” is hard to completely nail. It often shares similarities with intellectual property law - thus, most copyrights and trademarks are involved. Yet, it also ...