Sports

Sports broadcasting rights are distributed through contracts among clubs, leagues, broadcasters, and OTT operators, and in this process, legal disputes regarding broadcasting exclusivity, highlight editing rights, VOD usage rights, and YouTube and social media usage rights frequently arise.

In particular, violations of exclusivity and right-of-first-refusal provisions for broadcasting rights and infringement of other countries' broadcasting rights during OTT overseas transmission are major issues.

A procedure is necessary in which the attribution, scope, media of use, term, and scope of overseas transmission of rights are clearly defined in the broadcasting rights contract, and compliance with the copyright law of the export destination country is confirmed in advance when contracting with overseas platforms.

As the public recognition of star players increases, infringement of portrait rights and publicity rights also frequently arises.

When a player's photographs, name, or game footage are used without authorization in advertisements, merchandise products, or social media content, this can lead to legal disputes, and conflicts over the attribution of rights can readily arise even after a contract has ended.

To prevent this, it is important for players, clubs, and sponsors to clearly set out the scope of use and revenue distribution of portrait rights and publicity rights in the contract in advance, and to coordinate whether secondary use is permitted and the attribution of rights after contract termination.

In particular, when producing e-sports or AI-based virtual player content, the attribution of rights to virtual images, names, voices, and the like should also be clearly determined in order to minimize future legal risk.

In sports marketing, there are many cases in which false or exaggerated advertising, excessive advertising contract terms, and the omission of grounds for termination lead to violations of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act and to claims for damages.

In particular, the issue of early termination of a contract arises when a player is injured, when a club performs poorly, or when a social controversy occurs.

To prevent this, it is necessary to clearly define in the advertising contract the grounds for termination based on the advertiser's fault and the player's or club's fault, as well as the criteria for calculating penalties, in advance, and to review whether any unfair clauses exist by referring to the standard advertising contract of the Fair Trade Commission.

In professional sports, various disciplinary actions become issues, including violations of game operation rules, objections to decisions of the league operation committee, the imposition of penalties, match-fixing, and the use of prohibited substances.

In particular, the fairness of disciplinary action procedures, the provision of an opportunity to present one's case, and the proportionality of the discipline are the central issues in disputes.

Compliance with the procedures under league regulations, the regulations of the sports fairness committee of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee, and international federation regulations must be thoroughly managed, and the rights and interests of players and clubs must be protected through the submission of opinions by legal counsel and the securing of hearing procedures before disciplinary action is taken.

In participation in international competitions, the recruitment of foreign players, overseas game broadcasting, global sponsorship, and disputes over international transfer fees, international norms such as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the FIFA regulations, and the WADA anti-doping rules apply.

In addition, issues of international arbitration, international contract law, and violations of international copyright law also accompany them.

Therefore, when concluding international contracts, a review of the FIBA, FIFA, and IOC regulations, the relevant country's sports law, and international contract law must be conducted as a requirement, and when a dispute arises, the process of applying for CAS arbitration must be carried out.

In the e-sports industry, the exclusive term of player contracts, streamer contracts, copyright, broadcasting rights, video clip content usage rights, and advertising contracts are the main elements of disputes.

In particular, simultaneous contracts of streamers, unauthorized distribution of video clips, and infringement of publicity rights frequently arise.

Accordingly, contracts should be concluded in compliance with e-sports regulations and the standard exclusive contract criteria of the Fair Trade Commission, and the copyright of video and image content and clip usage rights should be clearly reflected in the contract.

Recently, portrait rights, publicity rights, copyright, and revenue distribution structures have newly become issues in AI player image generation, the issuance of player NFTs, and metaverse game broadcasting.

It is necessary to conclude a publicity rights usage contract with the player and the management agency before producing NFT content, to secure the consent of the original copyright holder of the image when producing AI content, and to establish provisions on copyright attribution, and a separate agreement on copyright and revenue distribution must be concluded with the NFT trading platform.

▶Key Defense Points in the Sports Industry