The Business Side of Name, Image, and Likeness Rights in College Sports, with Bruce Siegal, Taylor English (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 346)
Pending state and federal legislation will allow collegiate athletes the ability to hire agents and monetize their name, image, likeness (NIL). Sports trademark and IP veteran Bruce Siegal of Taylor English joined host John Ray to discuss the business issues involved with NIL. “North Fulton Business Radio” is produced virtually from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® in Alpharetta.
Taylor English
Taylor English Duma LLP is a full-service law firm composed of experienced, results-driven lawyers. Their model is purpose-built around their clients and designed to seek new opportunities for them.
They deliver superior service through…
1. Efficiency. They focus our resources more on client work and less on corporate overhead. As a result, their clients think of them as a business-building investment, not a corporate expense.
2. Partnerships. Their clients’ businesses are as important to them as their own. Taylor English’s belief in long-term relationships is more than talk; it is the basis of everything they do.
3. Results. They are creative problem solvers. That’s why their infrastructure is built to deliver as much value as possible, as they achieve the results that will best support their clients.
Taylor English works each day to provide timely, creative, and cost-effective counsel to help clients solve problems and achieve goals. They represent all types of clients—from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups to individuals. A majority of their lawyers carry vast experience from years of front-line work with top firms and leading businesses, including many who served as in-house and general counsels. In addition, a number of their members have worked outside of the practice of law, including in the start-up and management of businesses. Combining diverse talents in an environment that promotes efficiency and eliminates big-firm trappings, they provide a full array of legal services at a fraction of the cost.
Bruce B. Siegal, Senior Counsel, Taylor English
Bruce B. Siegal is a member of Taylor English’s Intellectual Property and Entertainment, Sports and Media Departments. Mr. Siegal has more than 30 years of experience as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) and its related sports licensing entities. He focuses on sports brand protection and enforcement, licensing, contract negotiation, marketing and business operations, helping brand owners maximize IP value thru licensing, sponsorship and endorsement agreements, and assisting licensees navigate the licensing marketplace through utilizing a vast network of industry contacts.
As the SVP and General Counsel of CLC, Mr. Siegal oversaw all litigation matters, trademark enforcement actions, and anti-counterfeiting efforts. He established CLC as a founding member of CAPS, a trademark protection and enforcement alliance among CLC and the professional sports leagues such as the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL. He played an essential role in establishing and managing the CLC legal department, implementing company-wide systems, policies and risk management procedures. Mr. Siegal advised on issues related to contests, social media initiatives and promotions. Additionally, he negotiated and drafted contracts, including agency, license, and sponsorship agreements with clients, licensees, and sponsors in the collegiate business, and for related sports and entertainment clients.
Mr. Siegal played an integral part devising programs to protect the trademark rights of numerous sports clients, including organizing systems to protect the NCAA Final Four and College Football Playoff marks by clearing the marketplace of counterfeit and unlicensed merchandise in coordination with the event organizers, investigators, and law enforcement officials.
In addition, Siegal developed and guided the implementation of CLC’s labor code of conduct and monitoring program, and worked with collegiate institutions and licensees to implement Corporate Social Responsibility programs designed to ensure that licensed product bearing collegiate trademarks are produced under safe and fair working conditions.
During his career, Mr. Siegal has written numerous publications on trademark and licensing protection, as well as anti-counterfeiting best practices, especially surrounding sports branding and special events.
He earned his law degree and BA from the University of Alabama.
Questions and Topics in this Interview:
- Background including being a founding member of CLC
- collegiate institutions protecting and licensing their marks
- Trademark protection and enforcement, including NCAA
- Why is NCAA reforming its rules regarding name, image, likeness (NIL)
- What is NIL
- State legislation
- Federal legislation
- Legal cases (including upcoming Supreme Court review of NCAA v. Alson; arguments 3/31)
- What does this mean for student athletes?
- What does this mean for college athletic departments?
- Ongoing educational efforts
- Future of college sports
“North Fulton Business Radio” is hosted by John Ray and produced virtually from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.
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