Tag: Tennessee

Tennessee Governor Signs ELVIS Act, Greatly Expanding State’s Publicity Statute

Yesterday, Governor Bill Lee signed into law the ELVIS Act which replaces the prior right of publicity statute in Tennessee.  It goes into effect on July 1st. I analyzed the new law in detail earlier this week. The law uncontroversially adds voice to the enumerated protections but also greatly expands the scope of liability and...

Tennessee Legislature Sends Right of Publicity Bill to Governor’s Desk

Tennessee’s right of publicity law has long been driven by the ghost of Elvis, and is now likely to replace its current statute with the almost inevitable passage of the appropriately titled ELVIS Act (the Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security Act of 2024) (HB 2091/SB 2096). Last week the bill was sent to the...

Student Athletes Lose Sixth Circuit Appeal in Marshall v. ESPN

Yesterday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a short opinion affirming a Tennesse district court's dismissal of claims by student-athletes. Lead plaintiff Javon Marshall (pictured above), a Vanderbilt football player, and other college football and basketball players filed a class-action complaint alleging that television broadcasts of their games by the defendants, including by ESPN,...

Student-Athletes File Appeal in Marshall v. ESPN

The student-athlete plaintiffs in Marshall have filed their opening brief in their appeal to the Sixth Circuit.  The Tennessee district court had earlier rejected the claim that television broadcasts of collegiate games violated the players’ rights of publicity under Tennessee law.  The brief contends that the district court erred by excluding the sports broadcasts from...

Federal Court in Tennessee rejects student-athletes’ right of publicity claim against ESPN for game broadcasts

In June of 2015, a district court in Tennessee rejected a class action claim by student-athletes that their rights of publicity were being violated by the broadcast of collegiate games.  The court held that the use of their names and likenesses in the context of the broadcasts was outside the scope of the statutory right...