Name, Image and Likeness Services Print PDF

The explosive growth of social media and the recent ability of college athletes to monetize their name, image and likeness (NIL) have substantially increased NIL licensing transactions.

The growth of NIL licensing has also led to a substantial growth in NIL disputes. Today’s creators, athletes and other influencers face serious risks around the use (and misuse) of their name, image and likeness.

With the NCAA’s issuance of an interim policy on July 1, 2021, college athletes are now permitted to profit from their NIL for the first time ever, opening the door for wide-ranging types of transactions, including endorsing products and services, making personal appearances, selling autographs, holding clinics and creating their own businesses.

Our Name, Image and Likeness legal team provides comprehensive legal and compliance services to all direct participants (college athletes, their families and sponsors) in the quickly developing NIL industry.

Our NIL lawyers have strong backgrounds in transactional work, intellectual property law, litigation and, most importantly, an appreciation for the nuances of NIL laws, rules and regulations.

Our Name, Image and Likeness legal services include:

• Partnering with creators and student-athletes (starting in high school) to identify and develop an NIL strategy that aligns with our clients’ personal values and interests
• Advising and counseling our clients to make key decisions pursuant to their NIL strategies
• Contract drafting and review to ensure our clients’ rights are protected
• Protection for all types of intellectual property such as trademarks and copyrights, including everything from logos to digital avatars
• Entity formation
• For-profit and non-profit entity creation to help protect our clients’ assets, as well as give back to the community
• Compliance assistance, ensuring compliance, reporting and disclosure requirements are met
• Legislation tracking