LeBron James and Drake are being sued over rights for hockey documentary
Last week, it was reported that LeBron James and Drake were teaming up to produce a movie about the old, segregated black hockey league in Canada. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for someone to claim intellectual property rights and file a lawsuit against them as last night they were named in a $10M lawsuit filed by Billy Hunter. Hunter is the former long-time head of the NBA
Players Association and ex-federal prosecutor who alleges he holds the exclusive legal rights to produce any film about the "Colored Hockey League"
that existed from 1895 to the 1930s.
Hunter filed the lawsuit in a Manhattan State Supreme Court and is seeking a share of profits from the documentary as well as $10 million in damages. In the lawsuit, Hunter accuses LeBron James, Drake and their
entertainment companies of cutting a deal behind his back with the authors of the critically acclaimed book that the documentary is based on, "Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895 to 1925." The authors, George and Darril Fosty, are also listed as defendants, citing breach of contract for allegedly violating the agreement giving Hunter the rights to produce a movie on the league. The lawsuit states they worked out a side deal with LeBron and Drake instead, even after Hunter paid the authors $265K for the movie rights to the story.
At the time of the filing, Hunter's lawyer released a statement saying, "While the defendants LeBron James, Drake and Maverick Carter [LeBron's business partner] are internationally known and renowned in their respective fields of basketball and music, it does not afford them the right to steal another's intellectual property"
As with most lawsuits involving celebrities and intellectual property rights, I would expect this to be settled out of court well ahead of the scheduled court date and for less than what Hunter is asking for.
