The Intellectual Layer of Esports
The firmest statutory foundation of esports law is the Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights. Every professional match runs on two layers of this law: the first is the video game itself — a computer program with the creative decisions embedded in it; the second is the live broadcast and the recording of the match — an audiovisual product created by the activity of the tournament organizer, the broadcaster or the player. Different subjects assert claims over these two layers, and it is precisely there that most esports disputes are born.
Under the law, the author or other holder of copyright has the exclusive right to use a work in any form — the right to carry out, permit or prohibit its use (Article 18). In esports this means that every form of commercial exploitation of a game — tournaments, broadcasts, recordings — rests on the consent of the person holding the rights to that game.