This post was also written by Jeremy Feinstein.
On May 24, 2010, the United States Supreme Court held, in American Needle, Inc. v. National Football League, et al., that the NFL, its teams, and intra-league ventures, are not a single enterprise for the purposes of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, and therefore the NFL’s collective licensing of its teams’ individually owned intellectual property could constitute concerted action – “a contract, combination . . ., or conspiracy.” This bulletin summarizes the Court’s analysis and a few of the decision’s key implications.