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

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"As esports has grown, the need for professional legal representation has grown with it. Justin's Essential Guide to the Business & Law of Esports & Professional Video Gaming provides a great baseline and will help prevent the legal horror stories of esports in the past." Mitch Reames, AdWeek and Esports Insider "Justin’s exploration of the business and law side of the esports sector fills a gap of knowledge that is an absolute necessity in truly understanding the esports space." Kevin Hitt, The Esports Observer The Essential Guide to the Business & Law of Esports & Professional Video Gaming covers everything you need to know about the past, present, and future of esports and professional video gaming. The book is written by one of the foremost attorneys and business practitioners in today’s esports and professional gaming scene, Justin M. Jacobson, Esq. This guide is meant to provide you with an in-depth look at the business and legal matters associated with the esports world. • Includes coverage of the stakeholders in the esports business "ecosystem," including the talent, the teams, the publishers, and the event organizers. • Explores various legal fields involved with esports, including intellectual property, employment and player unions, business investments and tax "write-offs," immigration and visas, event operation tips, social media and on-stream promotions, and much more. • The most current book on the market, with actual contract provisions modeled on existing major esports player, coach, shoutcaster, and sponsorship agreements.   About the Author Justin M. Jacobson, Esq. is an entertainment and esports attorney located in New York City. For the last decade, he has worked with professional athletes, musicians, producers, DJs, record labels, fashion designers, as well as professional gamers, streamers, coaches, on-air talent, and esports organizations. He assists these creative individuals with their contract, copyright, trademark, immigration, tax, and related business, marketing, and legal issues. He is a frequent contributor to many industry publications and has been featured on a variety of entertainment, music, and esports publications and podcasts, including Business Insider, The Esports Observer, Esports Insider, Tunecore, and Sport Techie. Justin has positioned himself as a top esports business professional working with talent in a variety of franchise leagues including the Overwatch League, Overwatch Contenders, and Call of Duty Pro League as well as in many popular competitive titles such as Fortnite, CS:GO, Gears of War, Halo, Super Smash Brothers, Rainbow 6, PUBG, Madden, and FIFA and mobile games such as Brawlhalla, Clash of Clans, and Call of Duty mobile. Previously, he worked with various esports talent agencies as well as in an official capacity on behalf of several esports teams and brands. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Preface About the Author Chapter 1 Introduction to Esports & Professional Video Gaming Law 1.1 A Brief History of Esports and Competitive Gaming 1.2 Introduction to Today’s Professional Esports Business Ecosystem 1.3 About Today’s “Competitive” Gaming Circuit 1.4 Exploring the Professional Esports Business Ecosystem 1.4.1 Gaming “Talent” in the Esports Business Ecosystem 1.4.1.1 “Competitive” Gamers and Gaming “Influencers”: Gamers, Coaches, Analysts, Shoutcasters, Content Creators, and Streamers The most abundant piece in the esports ecosystem is the individual “gamers” or the gaming “talent.” This includes professional 1.4.2 Professional Esports Organizations and Teams 1.4.3 Game Developers and Publishers 1.4.4 Event, Tournament, and League Organizers 1.4.4.1 Some Esports Event Operation, Production, and Management Tips Chapter 2 Intellectual Property Law and Its Impact on The Esports Business Ecosytem 2.1 Copyright Law 2.1.1 Copyrights for Game Developers and Publishers 2.1.1.1 Copyrights in the “Game” in the United States Copyright protection for a video game and for computer software is a complex matter. This is because they are multifaceted works of authorship which require protection for both the underlying software 2.1.1.2 The Copyright Dilemma for Game Publishers: User-Generated Content (“UGC”) & “Modifications” (“Mods”) In most cases, the game developer owns the exclusive intellectual property rights to the game’s underlying software. However, there has been new c 2.1.1.3 The UGC that Literally Changed The Game: Warcraft III and Dota One of the most well known and earliest examples of UGC is the evolution of the Defense of the Ancients (Dota) game mode from its original game Warcraft III.600 Warcraft III was the la 2.1.2 Copyrights for Gaming “Talent”: “Competitive” Gamers, and Gaming Influencers 2.1.3 Copyright for Professional Esports Organizations and Teams 2.2 Trademark Law 2.3 Trademarks in Esports 2.3.1 Trademarks for Gaming “Talent”: Competitive Gamers and Gaming Influencers 2.3.2 Trademarks for Professional Esports Organizations and Teams Chapter 3 Business and Tax Law and Its Impact on the Esports Business Ecosytem 3.1 Business Entities in Esports 3.1.1 “Loan-Out” Companies for Gaming “Talent”: Competitive Gamers and Gaming Influencers 3.1.2 Business Investments and Transfers for Professional Esports Organizations and Teams 3.2 Tax Matters in Esports 3.2.1 Personal Income Tax Matters for Gaming “Talent”: Competitive Gamers and Gaming Influencers 3.2.2 Some Tax Matters for Professional Esports Organizations and Teams Chapter 4 Immigration and Employment Law and Its Impact on the Esports Business Ecosystem 4.1 Immigration Law in Esports 4.1.1 Work Authorization for Gaming “Talent” 4.1.1.1 O1 and P-1A Visas for “Competitive” Gamers and Coaches As the global esports market continues to grow, foreign professional gamers from around the world are attempting to come to the United States to participate in tournaments and organized league 4.2 Employment Law in Esports 4.2.1 Employment Matters for Esports Organizations and Teams 4.2.1.1 A Look at “Employee” vs. “Independent Contractors” One central consideration for esports organizations and teams that field competitive teams or sign individual gamers and streamers is how the signed person is classified.808 In particular, it is c 4.2.2 Employer Law Matters for “Competitive” Gamers 4.2.2.1 “Collective Bargaining” and Esports Player Unions and Associations Another related employment law concept is the idea of “collective bargaining” and its potential application to esports.862 While no existing “esports”-wide players union or any org Chapter 5 Contract Law and Its Impact on the Esports Business Ecosytem 5.1 Gaming “Talent” Agreements 5.1.1 A Look at Professional Gamer Contracts with an Esports Team 5.1.2 A Look at Esports Coach Contracts with a Team 5.1.3 A Look at On-Air Talent Contracts with an Event, Tournament, or League Organizer 5.2 Esports Sponsorship and Brand Partnership Contracts 5.2.1 Look at Sponsorship and Investment Pitch Decks for Gaming “Talent,” Esports Teams and Event Organizers 5.2.2 Some Considerations for Sponsorship Agreements with Gaming Talent and Esports Organizations 5.2.3 Some Professional Gamer-Specific Sponsorship Matters 5.3 Licensing in Esports 5.3.1 Gaming “Talent” Licensing Matters 5.3.1.1 Likeness Rights As discussed in earlier sections of this work, professional gamers as well as gaming content streamers have certain intellectual property rights in their name, gamer-tag, logo, and other aspects of their individual likeness. These 5.3.1.2 Music Licensing Another important licensing matter that affects many content makers and streamers is the use of music during their stream as well as for any tracks included in any created content.1147 The general rule in these situations is that a 5.3.2 Professional Esports Organizations and Teams Licensing Matters 5.3.3 Other Esports Institution Licensing Matters: Esports Teams and Game Publishers 5.3.4 Licensing of Broadcasting and Streaming Media Rights by Event Organizers and Game Publishers 5.3.5 Licensing of Rights by Event Organizers from Game Publishers Chapter 6 Some Other Ancillary Esports Legal and Business Topics 6.1 Mobile Esports 6.2 The Rise of Global Youth, High School, and College Esports 6.3 International and National Esports Associations and Federations 6.4 Esports Professionals 6.5 Marketing and Promotions Legal Considerations for Social Media and Streaming 6.6 Conclusion 6.6.1 The Future of the Business of Esports References Index