Roman Brtka

eSports is an exciting new area — not only in the sporting industry but in legal terms. There are various key players such as eGamers, game publishers, and organizers of eSports events, who are facing the challenge of sufficiently protecting their rights. Organizers need to ensure that they obtain all necessary usage rights from the game publishers and the participating eGamers, and these parties need to be aware of their possible ancillary copyrights and should take appropriate precautionary measures to protect them. They should also keep in mind that the use of cheat bots might be illegal and sanctioned by courts and organizers of eSports events on the basis of their possible virtual domiciliary rights. There is still a considerable amount of legal uncertainty when it comes to IP in the world of eSports, so it’s vital that all parties involved in this space protect their interests though adequate contractual provisions.