Posts

Current Legal Issue: Muhammad Ali Sues Fox

By Jonathan Lewis

On June 3, 2016, boxing legend Muhammad Ali passed away from sepsis in an Arizona hospital, after a long fight with Parkinson’s disease.[1] Ali was known for his brash, braggadocious banter before bouts, as much as he was known for his fighting style in the ring. Many, including (and especially) Ali himself, regard him as the greatest boxer ever. After winning an Olympic Gold medal, becoming the then-youngest ever heavyweight champion at the age of 21, losing and regaining the heavyweight title twice more, and inventing both the “Ali shuffle” and the “rope-a-dope,” he was probably right.[2]

Aside from being a great boxer, Ali was also an entrepreneur. In 2006, Ali sold 80 percent of his company, G.O.A.T. LLC (Greatest of All Time), for $50,000,000.  G.O.A.T. LLC, which was subsequently renamed Muhammad Ali Enterprises LLC (MAE), controlled the use of Ali’s intellectual property, including his name, image, likeness, and rights of publicity.[3]

Read more

/by

The Chair’s Comments: Welcome to a New Year and a New Blog

fruth-darrellBy Darrell A. Fruth

Please allow me to introduce myself as chair of the IP Section, along with our new blog format.  We will use this blog to share articles and keep you posted on networking events and other programs that we are planning for the year.  If I can get you to do one thing, please mark April 28, 2017 on your calendar when you (and hopefully your family) will be attending our annual section meeting in Wilmington!

About Me   

It suits me to write my first Chair’s Comments in the form of a blog post, as I prefer less formal modes of communication. I spent my formative years in Las Vegas and then studied engineering at MIT and UC Berkeley before attending Yale for law school.  After law school, I clerked for a federal judge in Reno, NV, the “Biggest Little City in the World,” and practiced patent litigation in San Francisco.  I also took full advantage of the outdoor adventures, such as downhill skiing and mountain biking, that abound in the Sierras.  My family moved to Durham in 2005.  I currently serve as a partner at Brooks Pierce in Raleigh, where my broad IP practice includes licensing, assertion, and white collar defense.  I also co-teach the Start-Up Ventures Clinic at Duke Law School.

This Blog

With the support of section leadership, our intrepid editors Lauren Anderson and Michael Morlock decided to embrace the 21st century: We have switched our IP Links newsletter into a blog available to the entire world.  This should allow more timely stories delivered in shorter bites, but only if section members generate and share content relevant to our section.

The Year Ahead

Our section has strong leadership in the form of capable officers and dedicated committee chairs.  The trademark committee just conducted a seminar about beer law in Asheville.  Expect similar, top-notch programs throughout the year.  The cornerstone annual CLE will be presented, in collaboration with the Sports and Entertainment Section, in Wilmington on April 28.  We need you there.  Unless we have good attendance, the Bar Association will encourage us to hold all of our annual meetings at the Bar Center in Cary.  More importantly, our section sees real value in spending time getting to know one another.  In addition to CLE options, our events will stand out as a way to connect with your colleagues across the state.

I look forward to seeing you at an IP Section event soon!

/by