Instituto de Estudios Políticos y Derecho Público "Dr. Humberto J. La Roche"
de la Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas de la Universidad del Zulia
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Esta publicación cientíca en formato digital es continuidad de la revista impresa
ISSN-Versión Impresa 0798-1406 / ISSN-Versión on line 2542-3185Depósito legal pp
197402ZU34
ppi 201502ZU4645
Vol.39 N° 69
Julio
Diciembre
2021
Recibido el 26/03/2021 Aceptado el 24/06/2021
ISSN 0798- 1406 ~ De pó si to le gal pp 198502ZU132
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de Es tu dios Po lí ti cos y De re cho Pú bli co “Dr. Hum ber to J. La Ro che” (IEPDP) de la Fa-
cul tad de Cien cias Ju rí di cas y Po lí ti cas de la Uni ver si dad del Zu lia.
En tre sus ob je ti vos fi gu ran: con tri buir con el pro gre so cien tí fi co de las Cien cias
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avan ces o re sul ta dos de in ves ti ga ción en las áreas de Cien cia Po lí ti ca y De re cho Pú bli-
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Re vis ta Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas. Av. Gua ji ra. Uni ver si dad del Zu lia. Nú cleo Hu ma nís ti co. Fa-
cul tad de Cien cias Ju rí di cas y Po lí ti cas. Ins ti tu to de Es tu dios Po lí ti cos y De re cho Pú bli co
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Vol. 39, Nº 69 (Julio - Diciembre) 2021, 530-546
IEPDP-Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas - LUZ
Intellectual property law in the eld of
sports: specics of manifestations and
features of legal regulation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46398/cuestpol.3969.33
Evgen Kharytonov *
Olena Kharytonova **
Maxym Tkalych ***
Inna Bolokan ****
Hanna Samilo *****
Yuliia Tolmachevska ******
Abstract
The article aims to explore the relationships that arise with
respect to intellectual property rights in sports. The objectives of
the article are to establish points of contact between intellectual
property law and sports, as well as a detailed analysis of relevant
public relations in terms of intellectual property law and sports
law. To achieve the objectives of the article, the authors used a number of
scientic methods, among which the main methods are analysis, synthesis
and comparative-legal method. The authors of the study concluded that
modern sport is developing in close intertwining with intellectual property
rights, because only in this way can a sports spectacle be conveyed to a wide
range of spectators and consumers in a broad sense. In addition, the range of
points of contact between intellectual property and sports law is constantly
growing and such can now be called not only patents and trademarks in
sports, but also copyright, “image” rights, know-how in sports and the like.
* Doctor of Legal Science. Professor of Civil Law Department and Head of same Department at National
University “Odesa Law Academy”, Odesa, Ukraine. Corresponding Member of National Academy of
Law Sciences of Ukraine. Honored Science and Technology Worker of Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://
orcid.org/0000-0001-5521-0839. Email: zharuton@gmail.com
** Doctor of Legal Science, Professor of Intellectual Property and Corporate Law Department and Head of
same Department at National University “Odesa Law Academy”. Corresponding Member of National
Academy of Law Sciences of Ukraine. Honored Science and Technology Worker of Ukraine. ORCID ID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9681-9605. Email: lh2512@gmail.com
*** Ph. D., Associate Professor of Civil Law Department of Zaporizhzhia National University, Zaporizhzhia,
Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4224-7231. Email: maxx.tkalich@gmail.com
**** Doctor of Legal Science, Associate Professor of Civil Law Department of Zaporizhzhia National
University (Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine). ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1868-7552. Email:
innabolokani@gmail.com
***** Ph. D., Associate Professor of the Department of Constitutional, administrative, and labor law at
Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.
org/0000-0001-9493-8013. Email: Samiloann2gmail.com
****** Ph.D. candidate of Civil Law Department at National University “Odesa Law Academy”, Odesa,
Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7964-8875. Email: Yuliiatolmachevska7@gmail.
com
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Keywords: WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization),
Intellectual Property, Trademark, Design, Image Rights.
Derecho de propiedad intelectual en el campo de los
deportes: detalles de las manifestaciones y características
de la regulación legal
Resumen
Este artículo tiene como objetivo explorar las relaciones que surgen con
respecto a los derechos de propiedad intelectual en el ámbito del deporte.
En particular, los objetivos del artículo son establecer puntos de contacto
entre el derecho de propiedad intelectual y el deporte, así como propiciar
un análisis detallado de las relaciones públicas relevantes en términos
de derecho de propiedad intelectual y derecho deportivo. Para lograr los
objetivos del artículo, los autores utilizaron una serie de métodos cientícos,
entre los cuales los métodos principales son el análisis, la síntesis y el método
de derecho comparado. Los atores concluyeron que el deporte moderno
se está desarrollando en estrecha relación con los derechos de propiedad
intelectual, porque solo de esta manera se puede transmitir un espectáculo
deportivo a una amplia gama de espectadores y consumidores en un
sentido amplio. Además, la gama de puntos de contacto entre la propiedad
intelectual y el derecho deportivo está en constante crecimiento y ahora
pueden llamarse no solo patentes y marcas comerciales en los deportes,
sino también, derechos de autor, derechos de «imagen», conocimientos
técnicos en los deportes y similares.
Palabras clave: OMPI (Organización Mundial de la Propiedad
Intelectual); propiedad intelectual; marca registrada;
diseño; derechos de imagen.
Introduction
“Intellectual property rights underlie and empower the nancial model of all
sporting events worldwide. IP rights lie at the heart of the global sports ecosystem
and all the commercial relationships that make sports happen and that allow us
to tune in to sporting action whenever, wherever, and however we want” (WIPO,
2020: s/p.
These words were said by WIPO Director General Francis Gurry for
World Intellectual Property Day 2019 – Reach for Gold: IP and Sports.
This quote surprisingly successfully reveals the role of intellectual property
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Tolmachevska
Intellectual property law in the eld of sports: specics of manifestations and features of legal
regulation
rights in the development of modern sports, the main feature of which is
commercialization. Accordingly, modern sport is a spectacle, and it is the
institution of intellectual property law that acts as a kind of link between a
sports spectacle and its consumers.
In the context of the above said, the issues of legal regulation of relations
related to the protection of intellectual property rights in sports are of great
scientic and practical interest. In fact, the study of the peculiarities of the
legal regulation of these relations is the main purpose of this article.
As social relations in the eld of sports became more complicated, there
was an increasing need for their proper legal regulation (Kharytonov et al.,
2021). Ukrainian legislation provides for the state to care for the development
of physical culture and sports (Bolokan et al., 2021). Modern sport needs
private legal mechanisms of regulation, because they provide the best
way to protect the rights of individuals and legal entities – participants in
relations in the eld of sports (Tkalych et al., 2020). At the same time, both
national and transnational legal systems and the “sports law and order” are
gradually improving the legal and quasi-legal mechanisms of the regulation
(Kolomoiets et al., 2021).
In addition, considering the concept of this article, the authors aimed to
propose an adequate model of legal and quasi-legal regulation of relations
arising in relation to intellectual property in sports. After all, relations in
the eld of sports have their own specics, respectively, such relations
cannot always be qualitatively regulated by general legal norms. In this
case, it is necessary to adopt special regulations that would contain legal
norms adapted to the specics of the relevant area of legal regulation, in
this case – the eld of sports.
1. Methodology of the study
To achieve the objectives of the article, the authors used several scientic
methods, among which the main methods are analysis, synthesis, and
comparative-legal method.
Firstly, it should be noted that, the method of analysis was used to
study the current national and foreign legislation in the eld of intellectual
property and sports.
Additionally, it is worth mentioned that the method of synthesis, in
turn, allowed us to identify the main trends in the development of social
relations, which are formed at the junction of intellectual property rights
and sports.
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Finally, using the comparative-legal method, respectively, the norms of
the legislation in the eld of sports and intellectual property were analyzed
and possible ways of its improvement were suggested.
2. Analysis of recent research
About research on intellectual property rights in the eld of sports,
it should be noted that traditionally the greatest attention is paid to the
problems of the sports brand. Therefore, even a sports brand is not enough
researched topic in jurisprudence. The question of dening the concept
brand, its components, as well as the features of providing legal protection
to structural components as part of a single object of intellectual property
is considered in the works of Androschuk (2008; 2011a; 2011b); Kodynets
(2006); Kulinich (2016); Rassomakhina (2008); Romanadze (2008);
Sadovnyk (2015), and Pihurets (2005).
Among foreign authors, the subject of problems of protection of
intellectual property rights in sports was dealt with Anderson (2017) and
Sharma (2017); as well as dierent organizations, for example, Sandvine
(2017) and Nielsen (2016).
Kharytonova (2018) examines the objects of intellectual property rights,
noting that, as in any activity where there is an element of creativity, in the
eld of sports there are intellectual property rights to various objects: the
right to a name, the right to a brand, a logo, etc.
Recent research has covered specic intellectual property rights, such as
image rights in sport. The right to use the name of a celebrity, his/her image,
manner, recognizability, reputation today is classied as image rights.
The most complete and detailed study of the rights of an individual to his
own image (including in the eld of sports) is the monograph of Kulinich
(2016) “The right of an individual to his own image: the current state and
prospects for development”. However, separately the problem of using the
image of the athlete and the type of such use is still little studied. The issues
of protection of intellectual property rights in the eld of sports are not
better researched and covered in the scientic literature. Even a cursory
review of the achievements in the eld of protection of intellectual property
rights in the eld of sports shows the practical complete absence of relevant
research. Therefore, clarifying the concept of sports and intellectual
property rights related to it is appropriate and very relevant.
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Evgen Kharytonov, Olena Kharytonova, Maxym Tkalych, Inna Bolokan, Hanna Samilo y Yuliia
Tolmachevska
Intellectual property law in the eld of sports: specics of manifestations and features of legal
regulation
3. Results and discussion
It is rst necessary to determine which objects of intellectual property
rights are inherent in the eld of sports, and what is the mechanism of legal
regulation of public relations arising in connection with such objects.
Up until the 1960s, running shoes featured at soles. The University
of Oregon’s running coach Bill Bowerman took on the task to improve
traction and shock absorption in training shoes. He experimented by
using his wife’s wae maker to mold rubber spikes on the soles and
created a superior running shoe he named the Wae Trainer. The design
revolutionized the sneaker industry. Bowerman and one of his students,
Phil Knight, founded Blue Ribbon Sports, which eventually became Nike.
Today, Nike has obtained thousands of patents worldwide and now
has a patent portfolio that rivals that of many leading companies in the
pharmaceutical, automotive, and defense sectors, all traditionally research
and development- and technology-intensive industries (Low, 2016).
This example clearly demonstrates the rst direction of interaction
between intellectual property rights and sports, which is the legal design
and protection of rights to inventions, utility models and industrial designs
(Design). Relevant public relations belong to the subject of legal regulation
of patent law as a sub-institution of intellectual property law.
To fully understand the scope of patenting in sports, it is necessary to
provide statistics. So, as can be seen from Table 1, hundreds of thousands
of patents are in force in sports, which is commensurate with traditional
sectors of the world economy.
Table 1. The number of patents is in force in sports (Global Innovation
Policy Centre, 2020).
Kitesurng 14,224
Hockey 17,668
Polo 19,793
Soccer 28,779
Boxing 32,694
Baseball 44,468
Tennis 52,526
Skiing 110,501
Golf 112,256
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Branding also plays an essential role in creating value, interest, and
vitality in sports. It drives consumer loyalty and condence in the quality
and features of sporting goods. It also generates allegiance to sports
teams and sportswear styles. Trademarks work dierently for goods and
for services in the sports sector depending on the product or asset being
protected, but the common denominator is the distinctiveness of the mark.
Importantly, trademarks provide protection against confusion about the
source of a given product.
A trademark is a designation or any combination of designations that
are suitable for distinguishing goods (services) produced (provided) by one
person from goods (services) produced (provided) by other persons. These
can be, for example: words, letters, numbers, pictorial elements, color
combinations (Law 435-IV, 2003).
Depending on the form of expression, verbal, pictorial, three-
dimensional, combined symbols, etc. are distinguished. Verbal symbols can
be words, including proper names, combinations of letters, combinations
of words, etc. Graphical execution of verbal symbols can be done using a
regular or original font. Pictorial symbols include graphic compositions of
any shape on the plane: drawings, symbols, etc.
Famous individuals famous athletes, cause increased public attention,
encourage the purchase of souvenirs with their image, goods or products
that they advertise. Photographs decorate various everyday objects, clothes,
utensils, illustrate texts in online publications, print media, advertising
products (Subota and Nechiporenko, 2006).
The image of a famous athlete can also be used in the appearance of goods
and packaging. Unauthorized imaging is prohibited by law. For example,
in Australia, the image on a T-shirt without the permission of the name
and image of surfer Terry Fitzgerald, led to a lawsuit for infringement of
intellectual property rights of the athlete. The court ruled that the company
would refrain from reproducing or granting permission to reproduce
all or any part of the surfer’s photograph, awarding damages and costs
for violating the right to insult. Using a photo of a famous person can be
misleading, for example, when it gives the impression that the person in
the photo approves of your product, if in fact they do not (Kravets, 2000).
Thus, in particular, in the EU jurisdiction the most famous is the case
of Irvine v. Talksport Ltd (England and Wales Court of Appeal, 2003). The
radio station bought the rights to the photo with Formula I driver Eddie
Irvine, edited the photo a bit (replacing the mobile phone with a radio) and
released an advertising poster. The plainti believed that the poster created
in the audience a false impression of his approval of the defendant’s brand.
The appeal agreed with the plainti and recovered from the radio station
damages in the amount of £ 25,000.
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Evgen Kharytonov, Olena Kharytonova, Maxym Tkalych, Inna Bolokan, Hanna Samilo y Yuliia
Tolmachevska
Intellectual property law in the eld of sports: specics of manifestations and features of legal
regulation
It should be noted that today the market of well-known names of sports
clubs (brands) has actually been formed. The names of sports arenas are
for sale. The rst classic sale of the name of the sports arena is considered
to be the agreement between the New England Patriots (American football)
team in 1971: the new stadium in Foxboro was named after the beer brand
Schaefer. The advertiser then paid $ 150,000 for a 10-year contract. In the
early 1990s, the business developed rapidly, spreading to Japan, Australia,
and the United Kingdom.
Companies are willing to pay for naming because they are actually buying
a place on the city map and attracting not only fans but also a potentially
much larger audience, insuring themselves against price changes, booking
a place that is attractive for a long time. This phenomenon is called sports
naming (Vasiliev and Shamonaev, 2012).
Most often, the colors of the uniforms of national teams repeat the colors
of national ags. So professional sport is aimed to unite the nation under
the auspices of national symbols, to create a sense of unity with the people.
Fans of sports clubs or national teams wear clothes with the colors of the
appropriate accessories, decorate themselves with national symbols, paint
their faces in the colors of national ags. The combination of colors of the
club sports uniform, its specic design, is an important element of visual
distinction, which allows an outside observer to immediately distinguish
one club from another (Galkin, 2011).
Thus, club colors create a stable associative connection between fans
and a football or other sports club.
For example, the information of Prague’s Slavia, which was addressed
to the club’s fans, is indicative in this sense. The club posted information
on its ocial website for fans (who were going to support their team in
the return match of the third qualifying round of the Champions League
against Dynamo (Kyiv), which would take place on August 14, 2020 in
Kyiv), in which they oered fans to avoid possible provocations, to exclude
the appearance in the capital of Ukraine in club clothes and with the ocial
symbols of “Slavia”, including scarves and ags.
This is due to the similarity of the club colors of Prague with the symbols
of the Moscow “Spartak”, because the Czech club was afraid of physical
attacks on fans given the “sensitivity of Ukrainians to any expression of
pro-Russian sentiment” (LB.ua, 2018).
One of the most valuable assets that a sports team has is: “its name,
logo and other dening characteristics with which this team is associated in
public. In order to be able to protect their rights to these marks, professional
sports teams register them accordingly (most often as marks for goods
and services) and create a team brand (mark for goods and services with
a stable image). This is due to the fact that the economic activity of sports
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organizations is diverse and includes not only sports services but also
others, including trade in relevant sports accessories. Thus, clubs have to
protect their IP in order to preserve commercial and nancial interests.
The market price of such goods is determined not so much by their cost as
by the reputation of the sports team. As a rule, each professional club has
registered marks for goods and services. Brands of football clubs are well-
known all over the world in Ukraine as well” (State Enterprise “Ukrainian
Institute of Intellectual Property”, 2019).
Logos are varieties of a trademark, its graphic images. There are both
team, corporate logos and individual logos that are associated with a
famous athlete.
For example, Kawhi, the main player of the NBA playos, was suing
Nike because of his logo Klaw (“claw”) – a large palm in the form of letters
K and L and the number 2 (game number of the basketball player). The
striker is known to have one of the biggest palms in the league. According
to Kawhi, Nike has appropriated his “claw”. Kawhi insisted, that he came
up with and drew the logo while still studying at San Diego State University.
Later, after signing a contract with Nike, he allowed the company to use the
image with the placement on Jordan Brand products, but according to the
lawsuit “never transferred the right to the logo”, and the agreement on the
logo expired after the expiration of the contract with the company.
In 2018, Leonard did not renew the Jordan Brand contract, giving up $
22 million for 4 years, and signed a contract with New Balance. But Nike did
not allow the basketball player to use the logo – the company claims that
the copyright to Klaw now belongs to them. In the lawsuit, Kawhi asked the
court to recognize him as the author of the logo and rule that Nike “cheated”
him when registering the copyright for the logo (Sports.ru, 2019).
But most often, companies that produce sports products, try not to use
the entire composition of the brand, but only part of it – mainly the label.
For example, a major manufacturer of sporting goods and equipment, such
as Nike, usually does not advertise the entire brand, but only the so-called
Swoosh, i.e., the world-famous graphic element, made in 1971 by American
artist Caroline Davids – a tick.
Anthems or musical identiers of clubs can also be elements of a brand,
as the musical environment is one of the forms of recognition of a team.
Over time, it is clearly associated with the name of the club or company.
Mottoes and slogans, which are the objects of intellectual property
rights, are used by well-known brands, in particular, in the eld of sports. It
is a means of individualization, which is a short expression (motto, slogan),
which in a concise concentrated form expresses the philosophy of the club
or company. “Just do it” is a slogan that is easy to remember and in a short
poetic embodiment conveys to the consumer the direction of goals and the
meaning of the activities of a participant in the sports industry.
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Evgen Kharytonov, Olena Kharytonova, Maxym Tkalych, Inna Bolokan, Hanna Samilo y Yuliia
Tolmachevska
Intellectual property law in the eld of sports: specics of manifestations and features of legal
regulation
The next point of contact between intellectual property rights and sports
is the sphere of so-called “Image” rights.
Based on the analysis of image rights, it can be argued that this is
a combined concept that includes rights to such objects of civil rights
as intangible benets and results of intellectual activity. The results of
intellectual activity include, rst of all, photographic works depicting
athletes, as well as video recordings or works of visual art on which they are
depicted. Intangible benets within the framework of image rights include
the right to privacy, the right to a name and the right to protect the image of
a citizen (Vostrikova and Polukhina, 2017).
Image rights can also be dened as follows: Access to the services of the
personality for the purpose of lming, television (both live and recorded),
broadcasting (both live and recorded), audio recording; motion pictures,
video and electronic pictures (including but not limited to the production
of computer-generated images; still photographs; personal appearances;
product endorsement and advertising in all media; as well as the right to
use the personality’s name, likeness, autograph, story and accomplishments
(including copyright and other intellectual property rights), for promotional
or commercial purposes including, but without limitation, the personality’s
actual or simulated likeness, voice, photograph, performances, personal
characteristics and other personal identication (Blackshaw, 2020).
Interesting from the point of view of image rights is the story with
one of the photos of Michael Jordan. In 1984, photographer Jacobus
Rentmeester took a photo of Michael Jordan (a student at the University
of North Carolina). At the time, NIKE was negotiating an advertising
contract with Jordan (beginning with the commercialization of athletes’
image rights). For $ 150, NIKE bought a license to use the photo in the
presentation. A few months later, NIKE hired another photographer for the
photo shoot and chose a photo that shows Jordan in the same pose as in the
Rentmeester photo, but against the backdrop of a panorama of Chicago.
After Rentmeester had found out about this he threatened to sue, and the
company bought a two-year license for posters and billboards in the United
States. Later, based on the photo of the second photographer, NIKE created
a silhouette of “Jumpman”, which depicts a player jumping in front of a
slam dunk. This silhouette has become a symbol not only of Michael, but
also of NIKE, which receives huge prots from the sale of goods with this
logo.
Only in 2015 did Rentmeester le a lawsuit alleging copyright
infringement. The trial court refused, but the photographer appealed.
Rentmeester claimed that he came up with the pose for the basketball
player – a classic ballet pose “grand jetés”, not typical of basketball players.
“Jordan, trying to make a ballet jump, may seem awkward. But if you
creatively adapt the composition, the player pulls his left hand forward,
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triumphantly holds the basketball and creates a frame when Jordan seems
to y from the ground to the basketball hoop, creating a powerful and
unique eect, “the photographer described the composition. NIKE pointed
to a large number of dierences in the details of the composition of the
photograph. This is the evaluation criterion used by the court: the “ordinary
observer” test.
The conceptual similarity of the two photos is that they are taken
from the same angle: the viewer looks at the gure of a basketball player
against the sky. In other respects, they dier signicantly in detail. Each
of the photographers made several “creative choices” when choosing the
elements of the composition. In March 2018, an appeal was denied to
the photographer. The photographer then appealed to the US Supreme
Court. Rentmeester noted that the decision of the appeal contradicts
the approaches of other courts of appeal in similar decisions: how much
protection do individual elements of photography receive? What parts of
the works are signicant in comparison? Is there enough similarity in one
element or in a combination of such elements (Brachmann, 2019).
It should be noted that the concept of “image” rights, which combines
elements of the institution of intellectual property law and the institution of
personal non-property rights, is also closely related to copyright. Copyright,
as a system of legal norms aimed at the legal protection of objects of creative
activity, is another manifestation of the institution of intellectual property
law in sports.
Kuznetsova (2013) identies four types of results of creative activity
in the eld of sports: 1. sports performance [show] or its part as a work
of art or as a work of choreography in the sports industry: choreographic
composition in gure skating; speed skating sport, which is a complex
coordination type; performing with the author’s composition in
synchronized swimming, etc.; 2. sports-theatrical and sports-circus shows:
2.1 sports-theatrical and sports-circus shows as ceremonies and as part of
the opening and / or closing ceremony of major international and national
sports events [Olympic Games, Universiades, etc.]; 2.2 ordinary or complex
thematic or universal sports-theatrical and sports-circus shows [ice dancing
shows, sports and entertainment auto shows and motorcycle shows, etc.];
3. some original tactical schemes and combinations in some game sports
and in some tabletop intellectual sports games; 4. choreographic mini-
performances, which in the strict sense are not sports, but consistently and
recognizably preceding each sports performance [show] of a sports team or
athlete.
Based on the foregoing, sports performance and its individual elements,
sports movements and methods, as well as their compositions, sports
events, specic schemes of a sports game, scenarios and broadcasts of a
sports event can be identied as specic objects of copyright and related
rights in the sports industry.
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Tolmachevska
Intellectual property law in the eld of sports: specics of manifestations and features of legal
regulation
Indeed, more and more often the eld of sports is becoming a theatrical
phenomenon. The theatricalization of sports is manifested in the fact that
sports events are becoming more and more spectacular, and this, in turn,
objectively requires the involvement and active use of theatrical elements.
“If before the spectacular sports services were a duel, in which the intrigue of
nding a winner remained until the end of the competition, in postmodern
culture more and more often a sporting event is theatrical. An example of a
sports entertainment show is wrestling, in which all the basic elements of a
sports competition are present, except for one: here the development of the
event depends on a pre-written scenario, where the result of the match and
its climaxes are pre-written. Wrestling combines elements of sports, plays,
etc.” (Lukaschuk, 2010).
In addition to the fact that some sports contain elements of a production
show as a stand-alone work, music and other works belonging to other
persons are often used in the organization of sports competitions. In
particular, during important football matches or, for example, boxing
matches (the Klitschko brothers), domestic and foreign musicians often
perform the national anthem of Ukraine.
With regard to television broadcasts, the issue of legal regulation of the
relevant relations does not seem easy.
As for the objects of related rights in the sports industry, in addition to
the considered performance by an athlete of a copyrightable sports work,
these also include the rights to broadcast a sports event. As a rule, the
organizers of physical culture events and sporting events own the rights to
their coverage by broadcasting the image and sound of the events by any
means and using any technology, as well as by recording the said broadcast
and photographing the events; such rights can be used by third parties only
on the basis of the permission of the organizers of physical culture events
and (or) sports events or agreements in writing on the acquisition of these
rights by third parties from the organizers of such events. In addition to
national legislation, many relations regarding the coverage of sports events
are governed by the regulations of sports organizations, including the
rules of the Olympic Charter, FIFA and UEFA regulations, as well as other
documents of the international sports movement, which, as a rule, enshrine
the exclusive rights of such organizations to broadcast.
At the same time, as a protected object of intellectual property, a
broadcesting on the air or by cable of radio or television transmissions that
belong to the broadcasting or cable broadcasting organization is considered.
That is, legal protection extends to the process by which programs are
broadcast on air or by cable, which, as an object of law, arises from the
moment the broadcast begins. Sports broadcasts can “be, for example,
reports from the scene, broadcasting competitions, thematic discussions,”
lms “about famous athletes or events in the world of sports” (Buzova,
2019).
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Some of these categories of broadcasts, if there is a creative contribution
to their creation, may be recognized as audiovisual works, which are also
subject to independent copyright protection. For example, such as lms
about sports, talk shows and interviews with athletes, which are created by
broadcasting organizations on purpose, have a script or plot scheme, suggest
the selection of a studio or location for shooting, possibly with the use of
scenery and musical accompaniment, the use of makeup and costumes, an
invitation special guests and (or) spectators, and sometimes a production
director, as well as xation on a material or digital medium. Discussion is
the issue of the legal status of broadcasting sports events and news reports
from the place of sports events. Undoubtedly, their broadcasting is subject
to protection by related law (Dorofeeva, 2020). However, per se, news
reports that are purely informational in nature are not subject to copyright
protection. In fact, broadcasts of sports events are also material broadcast
from a football eld or other sporting event that is not subject to copyright
protection.
An absolutely innovative eld of modern sport, which uses a unique
model of legal regulation of intellectual property relations in sports, is
e-sports. This sport is already recognized by many countries around the
world and may soon be recognized as an Olympic sport. WIPO has described
the complexity of video game Intellectual Property rights by stating that
video games are complex works of authorship – containning multiple art
forms, such as music, scripts, plots, video, paintings, and characters –
that involve human interaction while executing the game with a computer
program on a specic hardware. Therefore, video games are not created as
a single, simple works, but are an amalgamation of individual elements that
can each individually be copyrighted (Ramos et al., 2013).
Also, a unique feature of e-sports is that the exclusive rights to e-sports
games belong to their developers, which allows them, unlike traditional
sports, to control all processes related to the organization and conduct of
e-sports competitions.
Conclusions
As a result of the study, the authors of the article came to two key
conclusions:
1. A modern system of sports cannot exist without a developed system of
intellectual property rights.
Sport has long been more than just one way to stay t. Instead, sport
has long been an entertainment industry that has become an important
sector of the world economy. Accordingly, like any other branch of the
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Evgen Kharytonov, Olena Kharytonova, Maxym Tkalych, Inna Bolokan, Hanna Samilo y Yuliia
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Intellectual property law in the eld of sports: specics of manifestations and features of legal
regulation
sports economy, it requires a number of legal instruments to protect the
intellectual property rights of products produced by the industry and are the
objects of intellectual property rights of athletes and / or other participants
in a wide range of sports relations. The focus of modern sports on the
consumer, the commercialization of relations in the eld of sports would be
limited without innovation, the determinants of which are television and
the Internet. It is innovative technologies that allow millions of spectators
to watch sporting events that take place anywhere on the planet with direct
visitors. And if until recently for exclusive broadcasts had to pay a lot of
money, because this opportunity was provided only by television as a
monopolist, today access to sports broadcasts has become much easier, and
they can be watched even on a smartphone through any streaming service.
In addition, a completely innovative eld of sport is e-sports, as a unique
direction of modern sports.
2. World sport has many points of contact with intellectual property
rights, which is manifested in the relevant relations through a number of
its sub-institutions.
Traditional intellectual property rights in sports have been trademarks
and inventions. At the same time, today they were joined by a number
of other objects, including utility models, industrial designs, objects of
copyright and related rights, as well as the latest objects of “image” rights,
combining elements of the institute of intellectual property law. property
and the institution of personal non-property rights.
Thus, the emergence of new intellectual property in sports, the search
for new innovative tools to bring the sporting product to the consumer
determine the relevance of further research in the context of interaction
of intellectual property and sport, developing a global model of legal and
quasi-legal regulation of relevant relations. for the purpose of sustainable
development of sports and ensuring the protection of the rights and
legitimate interests of all participants in relations in the eld of sports.
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