Intellectual Property Insights from Fishman Stewart
Mini Article – Volume 24, Issue 20
Share on Social

Thanksgiving Football Tradition with a side dish of Copyright Infringement
By Kristyn Webb
In the US, Thanksgiving is quickly approaching. For many, Thanksgiving and (American) football go hand-in-hand, with the Detroit Lions’ game as much a staple of the holiday as turkey and pie. Since 1934, the Lions have been a Thanksgiving Day fixture, creating a tradition beloved by fans nationwide. However, this year’s game arrives amid controversy: Lions’ legendary Hall of Famer Barry Sanders is facing a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement.
The suit alleges that Sanders used a specific image of the former running back in merchandise and promotional materials without securing proper licensing from the copyright owner, Allen Kee, the sports photographer who captured the iconic image. Sanders has yet to answer the complaint, and it is unclear how far this case might go. If it makes it all the way to the litigation end zone, a jury may have to decide whether Kee should be compensated for capturing that famous moment on film, or whether Sanders should have the right to use his own image and likeness without permission or payment to a third party.
Earlier this year, Kee brought a similar suit against the Detroit Lions, National Football League, and other entities, after a statue of Sanders was unveiled in Detroit. That case remains pending.
As fans look forward to watching the Lions face off against their Thanksgiving rivals, this case serves as a reminder of the complexities surrounding copyright, image rights, and the intellectual property side of sports. The Thanksgiving tradition of Detroit football carries on, but this year it’s shadowed by the intriguing legal developments surrounding the Lions and one of the team’s greatest players.
Kristyn Webb is the Group Leader of Fishman Stewart’s Copyright Practice Group, and holds a Master’s Degree in Copyright Law from King’s College London.

Related Content from Fishman Stewart
Generally, federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over copyright cases, and often, this presents an insurmountable paywall for individual artists and small businesses to vindicate their rights, especially where the value of the individual copyrighted works are relatively low.
Dedicated to raising public awareness about the importance of encouraging innovation and creativity throughout the world, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) annually observes World Intellectual Property Day on April 26 to showcase the role that patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyrights and trade secrets play in our everyday lives.
Hold onto your foam fingers, sports fans – college sports just got a whole lot more interesting! The latest updates to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rules are making student-athletes bigger than ever, and it’s not just about the game anymore.
Did a federal court in Louisiana recently decide that US copyrights are global rights? It seems so.
One of his most famous songs, “Lose Yourself” was recently at the center of a lawsuit. In 2019, Eminem’s publishing company Eight Mile Style sued Spotify claiming that Spotify streamed a number of its musical compositions without proper licenses.
One of the most common challenges is whether AI should be free to train on data that is protected by copyright and owned by third parties without first obtaining permission.
The U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) recently published its latest report on AI and “copyrightability.” In short, the USCO considers only some AI-generated works to be sufficiently creative as to deserve copyright protection, and thus, registration.
Back in the 1940’s assignments by independent contractors could be permanent and irrevocable. Things changed in 1976, when Congress overhauled the Copyright Act.
Generally, copyright protects the specific expression of ideas, such as the arrangement and presentation of visual elements, but it does not protect general concepts or styles.
In the age of the internet, memes are a universal language. A meme is a piece of content, typically an image, video, text, or a combination of these, that spreads rapidly across the internet, often with humorous, relatable, or satirical undertones.
IDENTIFYING, SECURING AND ADVANCING CREATIVITY®
