Sports Industry

The sports industry is a field that must satisfy a wide range of legal requirements.

Numerous legal issues are intertwined, including player contracts, broadcasting rights, advertising, and trademark rights, and addressing them is necessary.

In addition, matters such as 🔗sports doping, regulation of competitions, and gambling-related concerns such as sports betting may give rise to legal disputes.

As new forms of the sports industry such as e-sports and digital media emerge, it is also necessary to prepare for legal issues related to new technologies.

In addition, because legal regulation of the sports industry differs across the globe, it is important to identify and prepare in advance for the legal risks associated with entering overseas sports markets or with international sporting events.

Companies and individuals engaged in the sports industry may encounter a variety of legal issues.

For these matters, it is advisable to obtain legal advice from a professional or an attorney.

∙ Player Contracts and Management

With respect to player contracts and management, matters such as the conclusion of contracts between teams and players, salary negotiations, and contract renewals can be complex, so legal advice is necessary.

In particular, to prevent in advance any controversy over 🔗unfair contracts or the terms and content of a contract, obtaining advice from a professional is necessary.

∙ Sports Marketing and Advertising

In the field of sports marketing and advertising, legal review is necessary for advertising and sponsorship contracts relating to sporting events or players.

The terms of sponsorship or advertising contracts should be examined carefully from a legal perspective to ensure that they do not operate unfavorably.

∙ Trademark and Copyright Issues

Trademark and copyright issues are likewise an important aspect.

Copyright and trademark disputes relating to sports brands, logos, and events may arise frequently.

To resolve or prevent such disputes, obtaining advice from an attorney experienced in this area is important.

∙ Responding to International Sports Regulations

Responding to international sports regulations may require sports-related legal advice that takes overseas expansion into account.

Because sports regulations differ from country to country, understanding them in advance and responding appropriately is important.

∙ Legal Risks Related to E-Sports

Because e-sports and related broadcasting may give rise to new forms of legal issues, identifying the legal risks in advance and establishing a response strategy is necessary.

If the face, name, nickname, or uniform of a well-known player is used without authorization for marketing or merchandising, a claim for substantial damages or a provisional injunction prohibiting advertising may be brought for infringement of the right of publicity.

In particular, where an advertising agency or content producer distributes an image or video without a license review, legal liability may extend to the sports industry as well.

▶Response Measures: When concluding an explicit contract with a player, the scope of publicity use should be specified in concrete terms, and rights over secondary use (reuse, derivative merchandising) should be secured comprehensively.

Sports industry contracts are composite contracts that include diverse elements such as brand image, logo use, event appearances, and stadium advertising.

Changes to the contract within a short period, non-performance, or a player's injury may cause the advertising effect to fall short of expectations or give rise to disputes over non-performance.

▶Response Measures: The contract should include flexible risk-mitigation clauses, such as a clause allowing termination in the event of damage to image and a clause providing for a substitute appearance.

Sporting goods, uniforms, logos, mascots, and game footage are all subject to intellectual property protection.

Using them without authorization, or reimporting and distributing similar products from overseas, may constitute a violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act or the Trademark Act.

▶Response Measures: After securing rights through trademark, design, and copyright registration, a system for responding to infringement should be established through ongoing monitoring and partnerships with online platforms.

In operating within the sports industry, employment contracts concluded with players go beyond simple employment contracts and contain many sensitive clauses, such as exclusivity, transfer fees, and incentives.

Disputes may also arise due to the involvement of transfer intermediaries or the potential for violations of international rules when transferring to a foreign league.

▶Response Measures: Contracts should be concluded on the basis of international standard contract forms, the tripartite contract structure with the player's agent should be made clear, and FIFA rules and the sports laws of each country should be observed.

If a league or federation imposes the game schedule, broadcasting rights, equipment use, and the like, this may constitute an unfair trade practice or an abuse of a market-dominant position.

In addition, negotiations or collective action with a players' union may also become a legal issue.

▶Response Measures: It should be examined whether the contents of the contract concentrate benefits excessively on a particular business operator, and fair trade advice should be obtained on an ongoing basis to confirm that no competition-restricting elements are present.

Sports industry broadcasting rights, YouTube highlights, and game footage editing are areas in which copyright and the right of publicity are highly sensitive.

In particular, because the rights relationships among broadcasters, leagues, clubs, and players are complexly intertwined, producing or distributing content without legal review carries a high risk of disputes.

Editing game footage without authorization and posting it on YouTube without holding broadcasting rights may make one subject to copyright infringement and a claim for damages.

Even where a player appears in highlight footage, generating advertising revenue without the party's explicit consent may be regarded as an infringement of the right of publicity.

▶Response Measures: When a company produces or distributes content, concluding a license agreement with the copyright holder and obtaining legal advice in advance are necessary.

Daeryun Law Firm has many attorneys experienced in sports matters.

Attorneys who have represented clients on various club-related issues analyze the client's case and provide legal advice in collaboration with professionals such as labor attorneys and tax accountants.

In addition, where a client is involved in private gambling or illegal gambling related to sports competitions, we also present solutions for resolving criminal proceedings.

If you are experiencing difficulties due to a problem related to the sports industry, please refer your case to us through an 🔗entertainment attorney legal consultation booking.

Below is a practical legal checklist that sports industry companies must verify when developing their business.

It is advisable to review it regularly within the company or to have it examined by a professional experienced in sports law.