Panel highlights the value of copyright for sports during World IP Day in DC

By Emmanuel Legrand

Protecting content against infringement and the need to be remunerated for the use of copyrighted content are the two conditions to maintain a healthy sports environment, according to a group of sports professionals and broadcasters gathered on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on World IP Day.

  During a session on Sports and Copyright, Keith Kupferschmid, CEO of Copyright Alliance, co-organiser of the event with the Creative Rights Caucus, noted that "most people don't know how IP and sports are linked" but the sports world in the USA is a $300 billion business, between the different leagues, sports events, broadcasters and sponsors. "This highlights the importance of copyright in the sports world," he said.

  In video comments, the co-chairs of the Creative Caucus, Rep. Judy Chu and Rep. Doug Collins, both expressed support to the creative sector, which contributes $1.2 trillion to the US economy, and for the need to protect these industries from piracy and infringement. "All [sports leagues] are concerned with piracy," said Collins who added that these businesses needed to be protected from "bad actors."

Protecting the value chain

  Curtis LeGeyt, Executive Vice President of Government Relations at the National Association of Broadcasters, which represents the vast majority of commercial TV and radio stations in the USA, stated that IP rights were "the bedrock" that allowed broadcasters to deliver sports events to wide audiences. He said broadcasters and leagues needed to be able to be compensated for putting together events and broadcasting them. If piracy proliferates, sports league and programmers' contribution to the value chain will be affected, he warned.

  Ray Warren, President of media group Telemundo Deportes, picked up on a similar topic. "When we talk about IP, it's not simply licensing rights, it's all the investment around," he said. "Production costs are enormous." Warren added that there was also a human factor to take into consideration. "When we are protecting copyright and IP, we are protecting people and livelihoods," he said, explaining that in the case of the World Cup in Russia last year, Telemundo sent over 300 people to cover the event and their safety and well-being was paramount.

  For Warren, action against "bad folks" who pirate signals, or live off the work and investment made by the leagues and broadcasters, is necessary. He advocated for swift penalties for infringers. "You have to make examples and make noise about it," he said.

A global problem

  Dolores DiBella, Vice President, Legal Affairs for the National Football League, explained that leagues like the NFL face a challenge in that they "need to get content out there, and we are always looking at getting more content out there, especially with the explosion of digital distribution. But we also need to protect our rights because we are making a lot of investment in making things happen."

  DiBella added that the NFL, like many other content owners "face a lot of challenges" due to the proliferation of infringing content, including fake tickets. "As content delivery gets more sophisticated, so does infringement," she said, adding it was a global problem which required content owners to work with governments to address these issues.

  The development of eSports is also the source of of new forms of infringement. Delara Derakhshani, Counsel, Tech Policy at the Entertainment Software Association, explained that the $23.4bn game industry is experiencing "phenomenal growth" in the eSport space, but also had to deal with enforcement issues. "We have unauthorised and counterfeited sales online," she explained. "ESA members use traditional measures, including DMCA takedown, but we also work with platforms that provide tools for us."

  ESA members also have to deal with cheating practices specific to video games that need to be policed. "One of the biggest issues we are facing is software that uses source code to access source code of a game," she said. "The integrity of games is important, we cannot let people cheat."