The Essential Guide to the Business & Law of Esports & Professional Video Gaming

327 Pages·2021·58.832 MB·English

by  Justin Jacobson

The Essential Guide to the
Business & Law of Esports
& Professional Video
Gaming

The Essential Guide to the
Business & Law of Esports
& Professional Video
Gaming
Justin M. Jacobson, Esq.
First edition published 2021
by CRC Press
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
and by CRC Press
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
© 2021 Justin M. Jacobson, Esq.
The right of Justin M. Jacobson, Esq. to be identified as the author[/s] of the editorial material, and of
the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher
cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and
publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and
apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright
material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint.
Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmit-
ted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, with-
out written permission from the publishers.
For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, access www. copyright. com or con-
tact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400.
For works that are not available on CCC please contact mpkbookspermissions@ tandf. co. u k.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are used only
for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
ISBN: 978-0-367-69945-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-67512-7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-14396-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Garamond
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
To my Perri.

Contents
•
Preface xi
About the Author xiii
1
Introduction to Esports & Professional Video Gaming Law 1
1.1 A Brief History of Esports and Competitive Gaming 2
1.2 Introduction to Today’s Professional Esports Business
Ecosystem 16
1.3 About Today’s “Competitive” Gaming Circuit 17
1.4 Exploring the Professional Esports Business Ecosystem 20
1.4.1 Gaming “Talent” in the Esports Business Ecosystem 21
1.4.2 Professional Esports Organizations and Teams 30
1.4.3 Game Developers and Publishers 37
1.4.4 Event, Tournament, and League Organizers 42
2
Intellectual Property Law and Its Impact on The Esports Business
Ecosytem 55
2.1 Copyright Law 55
2.1.1 Copyrights for Game Developers and Publishers 58
2.1.2 Copyrights for Gaming “Talent”: “Competitive”
Gamers, and Gaming Influencers 64
2.1.3 Copyright for Professional Esports Organizations
and Teams 64
2.2 Trademark Law 65
2.3 Trademarks in Esports 67
2.3.1 Trademarks for Gaming “Talent”: Competitive
Gamers and Gaming Influencers 68
2.3.2 Trademarks for Professional Esports Organizations
and Teams 71
vii
viii CONTENTS
3
Business and Tax Law and Its Impact on the Esports Business
Ecosytem 73
3.1 Business Entities in Esports 73
3.1.1 “Loan-Out” Companies for Gaming “Talent”:
Competitive Gamers and Gaming Influencers 76
3.1.2 Business Investments and Transfers for Professional
Esports Organizations and Teams 77
3.2 Tax Matters in Esports 80
3.2.1 Personal Income Tax Matters for Gaming “Talent”:
Competitive Gamers and Gaming Influencers 80
3.2.2 Some Tax Matters for Professional Esports
Organizations and Teams 86
4
Immigration and Employment Law and Its Impact on the Esports
Business Ecosystem 89
4.1 Immigration Law in Esports 89
4.1.1 Work Authorization for Gaming “Talent” 89
4.2 Employment Law in Esports 95
4.2.1 Employment Matters for Esports Organizations
and Teams 95
4.2.2 Employer Law Matters for “Competitive” Gamers 100
5
Contract Law and Its Impact on the Esports Business Ecosytem 103
5.1 Gaming “Talent” Agreements 103
5.1.1 A Look at Professional Gamer Contracts with an
Esports Team 104
5.1.2 A Look at Esports Coach Contracts with a Team 134
5.1.3 A Look at On-Air Talent Contracts with an Event,
Tournament, or League Organizer 138
5.2 Esports Sponsorship and Brand Partnership Contracts 142
5.2.1 Look at Sponsorship and Investment Pitch
Decks for Gaming “Talent,” Esports Teams and
Event Organizers 143
5.2.2 Some Considerations for Sponsorship Agreements
with Gaming Talent and Esports Organizations 146
5.2.3 Some Professional Gamer-Specific Sponsorship
Matters 157
CONTENTS ix
5.3 Licensing in Esports 158
5.3.1 Gaming “Talent” Licensing Matters 158
5.3.2 Professional Esports Organizations and Teams
Licensing Matters 162
5.3.3 Other Esports Institution Licensing Matters:
Esports Teams and Game Publishers 166
5.3.4 Licensing of Broadcasting and Streaming Media
Rights by Event Organizers and Game Publishers 167
5.3.5 Licensing of Rights by Event Organizers from
Game Publishers 169
6
Some Other Ancillary Esports Legal and Business Topics 171
6.1 Mobile Esports 172
6.2 The Rise of Global Youth, High School, and College
Esports 174
6.3 International and National Esports Associations and
Federations 179
6.4 Esports Professionals 182
6.5 Marketing and Promotions Legal Considerations for Social
Media and Streaming 188
6.6 Conclusion 192
6.6.1 The Future of the Business of Esports 192
References 195
Index 301