Our article addresses image rights, intellectual property and commercialisation in esports, explaining the commercial use of the player's name and image, the protection of personality rights, licence relationships, the commercialisation of the gamer tag, broadcasting revenues and sponsorship models.
In the first article of our esports law series we addressed the fundamentals and the ecosystem of the field, and in the second article player contracts. In this third and final article, we focus on perhaps the fastest-growing and most revenue-generating dimension of esports, namely image rights, intellectual property and commercialisation. An esports player is no longer merely an athlete who achieves success in competitions; at the same time it is a brand generating serious commercial value through its own name, image and personality. A player's name, face, tag and style have become the source of a broad range of revenue, from products to broadcasts, from sponsorships to social media collaborations. The correct management of this value is of critical importance as regards both the player receiving the reward of its labour and the protection of the interests of the club and the sponsors. This article comprehensively examines image and personality rights in esports, their commercial use, intellectual property and licence relationships, commercialisation through the gamer tag, broadcasting revenues and sponsorship models.
1. Image Right and Personality Rights
At the basis of commercialisation in esports lie the player's image right and personality rights. A person's name, image, voice and, in general, the elements constituting its personality are values protected in law. In Turkish law, personality rights are secured within the scope of the provisions of the Turkish Civil Code relating to the protection of personality. Accordingly, a person's name, image and personality values may not be used by others for commercial purposes without its consent. In the esports context, this means that a player's name, face or image may not be used in a product, advertisement or promotional activity without its permission. The image right constitutes the commercial dimension of personality rights; it expresses the person's right to benefit from the economic value of its own image. In esports, players, particularly as they become popular, may obtain significant revenues through their images. However, the use of this image must rest on the player's consent and on express contractual arrangements. The correct understanding of the legal protection of the image right is fundamental as regards both the player protecting its own value and the club and sponsors using this value in a manner conforming to law.
2. The Commercial Use of the Player's Name and Image
The commercial use of an esports player's name and image is a sensitive field requiring careful legal regulation. As players become popular, their names and images turn into valuable assets desired for use in products, advertisements, digital content and promotional activities. For this use to be lawful, the player's express consent must exist and the conditions of use must be determined by a contract. In the player-club contract, the scope, the media and the period within which the player's image may be used by the club must be clearly regulated. This regulation, while enabling the club to use the player's image on team jerseys, in promotional materials and in sponsorship activities, also secures the player's receipt of a share of the revenue arising from this use. Leaving the limits of image use uncertain is a frequent source of dispute in practice; for example, questions such as whether the club may continue to use the player's image after the termination of the contract, or whether the player's individual sponsorship agreements conflict with the club's rights, can be resolved only by express contractual arrangements. For this reason, the scope, the period and the consideration of the image use must be determined in detail in the contract.
3. The Legal Status of the Gamer Tag and the Pseudonym
One of the elements specific to esports is that players are often known by a pseudonym, that is, a gamer tag, instead of their real names. These pseudonyms may over time become more recognisable than the player's real name and may gain significant commercial value. The legal status of the gamer tag constitutes one of the interesting and unique questions of esports law. A gamer tag, as a distinctive sign identified with the player's personality, may be assessed within the scope of personality rights, and may also be protected as a trademark when registered. The registration of a player's gamer tag as a trademark provides an exclusive right over the commercial use of that name and prevents third parties from using this name without permission. However, who holds the rights over the gamer tag may be an important matter of debate, particularly between the player and the club. The rights over a gamer tag that the player created and popularised before joining the club belong, as a rule, to the player; however, arrangements relating to the use of this name by the club may be made by contract. To whom commercial activities such as product sales, digital content production and brand collaborations through the gamer tag will belong, and how the revenues will be shared, must be clearly determined in the contract. The failure to provide this clarity may lead to serious disputes when the player changes teams.
4. Intellectual Property and Licence Relationships
An important dimension of commercialisation in esports is the intellectual property and licence relationships between the player and the club. A player may license to the club the use of certain rights arising from its personality rights and its image, within a certain scope and period. A licence means the holder of a right leaving the use of its right to another under certain conditions. In the esports context, the player may grant the club licences relating to the commercial use of its image, its name and its gamer tag; the limits, the periods and the consideration of these licences must be carefully regulated. The basic matters that must be clarified in intellectual property and licence relationships are as follows; the scope of the licence, that is, which rights may be used for which purposes; the period of the licence, that is, for how long the rights may be used; whether the licence is exclusive, that is, whether the player may also grant the same rights to others; and the revenue that the player will obtain in return for the licence. Leaving these matters uncertain leads to serious problems, particularly upon the termination of the contract or the player changing teams. The careful regulation of intellectual property and licence relationships is fundamental as regards both the protection of the player's rights and the club conducting its commercial activities in a manner conforming to law.
5. Revenues Arising from Broadcasting and Content Production
In the esports ecosystem, an important revenue source for players is live broadcasting and content production. Many esports players, alongside competitions, make live broadcasts on digital broadcasting platforms, produce video content and obtain revenue from these activities. This revenue model brings with it questions specific to esports law. First, the intellectual property right of the broadcast and content produced by a player belongs, as a rule, to the player; however, the publisher has rights over the images of the game used in this content. Second, where the player is attached to a club, how the revenues arising from broadcasting and content production will be shared between the player and the club is an important matter. While some contracts leave the revenue the player obtains from its individual broadcasting activities entirely to the player, others provide for a share to the club from this revenue. The clear determination of this sharing in the contract is important as regards the prevention of disputes that may arise in the future. Third, the player promoting brands conflicting with the club's sponsors in its broadcasting activities may lead to serious contractual problems. For this reason, the rights and obligations relating to broadcasting and content production must be carefully regulated in the contract.
6. Sponsorship Models and Brand Collaborations
Sponsorship is one of the most important revenue models of the esports ecosystem and lies at the centre of commercialisation. Brands make sponsorship agreements both with clubs and with individual players in order to reach the young and digital audience of esports. Sponsorship models show variety; a brand may be the main sponsor of a club, may support a particular tournament or may make an individual sponsorship agreement directly with a player. The coexistence of these different sponsorship layers requires careful legal management. In particular, the possible conflicts between club sponsorships and players' individual sponsorships are a problem frequently encountered in practice. When a club's main sponsor and a player's personal sponsor are competing brands, a serious conflict of interest arises. In order to prevent such conflicts, exclusivity provisions and conflict resolution mechanisms must be carefully regulated in player contracts and sponsorship agreements. Moreover, in sponsorship agreements, the scope of the rights that the sponsor will obtain, the obligations of the player or the club, and the period and consideration of the sponsorship must be clearly determined. The sound management of sponsorship relationships is the basis of the economic sustainability of the esports ecosystem.
7. The Fate of Rights When the Player Leaves
Since players frequently change teams in the dynamic structure of esports, the fate of image and intellectual property rights when a player leaves a club becomes a critical problem. When a player leaves the team, whether the club may continue to use that player's image, name and appearance is an important matter of debate. As a rule, the image right arising from the player's personality rights belongs to the player, and with the termination of the contract the club's authority to use this image also ends. However, in practice, the fate of the content produced by the club together with the player, the photographs taken and the promotional materials may give rise to complex questions. For example, whether a club may continue to use past promotional materials featuring the image of a departing player depends on whether there is an express arrangement on this matter in the contract. Likewise, to whom the rights over a gamer tag or brand that the player popularised while at the club will belong after departure must also be clarified. For this reason, it is of great importance that provisions relating to the fate of image and intellectual property rights in the event of the termination of the relationship be regulated from the outset in player contracts. Such foresight prevents a significant part of the disputes that may be experienced at the moment of departure from the outset.
8. Commercial Disputes and Protection Strategies
The increase in commercialisation in esports brings with it an increase in commercial disputes. The unauthorised use of image rights, the breach of licence contracts, sponsorship disagreements and conflicts of rights over the gamer tag are the types of dispute frequently encountered in this field. In order to prevent these disputes and resolve them effectively, certain protection strategies must be developed. First, the most effective protection is the clear and complete regulation of rights by contracts from the outset; uncertainty is the most important source of disputes. Second, the registration of gamer tags and brands of high commercial value, by providing an exclusive right over them, constitutes strong protection against unauthorised use. Third, obtaining the permissions relating to the use of image and intellectual property rights in writing and clearly prevents problems of proof from being experienced in the future. Fourth, providing for methods of dispute resolution in contracts, particularly fast and expertise-requiring means such as arbitration, ensures the effective resolution of disputes. The application of these protection strategies from the outset is decisive as regards securing the commercial interests of the player, the club and the other actors.
9. Assessment of the Series and Conclusion
In this three-part series, we have comprehensively addressed esports law from its fundamentals to its commercial dimension. In the first article we examined the fundamentals of the field, the actors of the ecosystem and the intellectual property sovereignty of the publisher. In the second article we addressed the player contracts at the heart of the ecosystem, their legal nature, the transfer and registration processes and the protection of minor players. In this final article we examined the dimension of image rights, intellectual property and commercialisation. The basic conclusion emerging from the series as a whole is as follows; esports, with its unique dynamics, actors and legal problems, is not a simple extension of traditional sports law, but an original field where sports law, intellectual property law, contract law and personality rights law intersect. It is of vital importance that the players, clubs, organisers and brands operating in this field regulate their legal relationships clearly and completely from the outset in order to protect their rights and prevent disputes. The rapidly growing and changing structure of esports requires legal awareness in this field to be kept constantly up to date. The correct management of image rights, the protection of intellectual property and the placing of revenue models on sound contractual footings are in the common interest of all actors in the esports ecosystem. Acting with this awareness supports both the protection of individual rights and the sustainable and healthy development of esports.
Image rights and commercialisation in esports lie at the intersection of sports law, intellectual property law and personality rights law. The first article of our series, introduction to esports law: the ecosystem, publisher sovereignty and the institutional structure in Türkiye, and the second article, player contracts in esports: legal nature, transfer, registration and minor players, together with this article address esports law as a whole.
For advisory services on image rights, intellectual property and licence management, gamer tag registration, sponsorship agreements and the resolution of esports commercial disputes, you may contact us at info@guzeloglu.legal.