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ARTICLE · 01 JUNE 2015

Three Point Shot - May 2015

Proskauer Rose LLP
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Last month, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals forced former professional wrestler Steve "Wild Thing" Ray to tap out in his battle against ESPN by dismissing the wrestler's right of publicity suit for failure to state a claim.

United StatesMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment

"Wild Thing" Forced to Tap Out in Battle against ESPN

Last month, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals forced former professional wrestler Steve "Wild Thing" Ray to tap out in his battle against ESPN by dismissing the wrestler's right of publicity suit for failure to state a claim. Mr. Ray originally sued ESPN for rebroadcasting old wrestling matches in which Ray participated without his permission, claiming that such unauthorized rebroadcasting infringed his state-law right of publicity. In a federal court forearm smash, the district court for the Western District of Missouri held that the Copyright Act preempted Ray's right of publicity claim. Subsequently, Ray appealed the ruling – hoping for a surprising "sunset flip" of his dismissal – but the Eighth Circuit affirmed the lower court's submission hold.

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