SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT - Law and Attorneys

Sports and entertainment law is often grouped as a subject because, although dealing with two different things, the general areas of law overlap. Both sports and entertainment law deal with high priced contracts, highly public figures, large business entities, and high dollar entertainment products. Sports and entertainment are big public business in the United States, and any person or entity considering entering the world of sports and entertainment law should consult an attorney practiced in the field prior to making a decision.

Sports Law

Sports law deals with issues regarding amateur and professional sporting leagues and their players. A sports attorney should be able to navigate contract law and tort law, and have an understanding of antitrust and labor law. Professional and amateur leagues and their players are often faced with legal issues that other large companies face. Sports law is intertwined with labor law in the US because of players' unions in every major professional sport, and any sports attorney should be able to negotiate contracts and represent players or owners while taking union considerations and policies into account. Teams and athletes are also protected from copyright infringement. Any company using sports themed advertisement must be aware of the relevant sports law that protects team and player images and should consult an experienced sports attorney.

Entertainment Law

Entertainment law covers a wide array of activities because of the different entertainment mediums such as TV, music, film, theater, computer software and games, and any other path of artistic expression. Each of these aspects of entertainment law carries different nuances, but commonly across all of them are issues of misuse of a copyright or image, defamation, censorship, contract law, privacy, and any state or federal laws regulating the entertainment industry. An entertainment attorney usually specializes in one or two types of entertainment law, and should be able to negotiate contracts, protect an entertainer's copyrighted image and product from improper use, and make sure censorship or privacy laws are complied with. It is important for anyone in the entertainment industry to be represented by an entertainment attorney as the business and legal side of producing entertainment can be complex.