This contribution examines the evolving relationship between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the esports industry, highlighting the transformative impact of AI technologies such as machine learning and neural networks. Artificial Intelligence has revolutionised esports by enhancing fan engagement and enabling personalized gaming experiences while empowering developers to create innovative content. Leading esports organisations are leveraging AI tools to monitor performance metrics and expand their brand footprint. However, the integration of AI raises legal challenges, especially concerning data privacy and ownership rights over AI-generated content. Regulatory frameworks such as the EU Artificial Intelligence Act emphasize transparency and user consent, posing challenges for AI service providers. Additionally, debates surrounding the copyrightability of AI-generated content underscore the need for clarity on issues of human authorship and originality. This contribution concludes by suggesting that while AI offers immense potential for esports, navigating legal and ethical complexities remains critical for stakeholders in the industry.
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The contribution provides an analysis of community licences, specifying their nature of open licences serving as standardized agreements facilitating the relationship between publishers and third-party esports tournaments’ organizers which cannot operate under the relevant videogame standard EULA.
After the initial overview, the contribution focuses on the role of community licences in the esports industry and, more particularly, on their pivotal role in allowing the organization of often small-scaled tournaments capable of fostering community engagement, and nurturing talents.
The contribution also provides an analysis of the structure and scope of community licences across publishers and games, and how that is influenced by publishers' strategy for managing their esports ecosystem.
Finally, the contribution explores the common traits of these licences, as imposing restrictions on prize pools and revenue generation, limiting the possibility of requiring entry fees from participant as well as sponsorship agreements in order to maintain control and protect brand integrity.
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Generative AI (GenAI) refers to artificial intelligence technologies that use algorithms capable of producing new content, such as text, images, music, and code, from the training data they are provided with. These technologies primarily utilize advanced machine learning frameworks, including deep learning models, to analyze and replicate complex patterns found in existing data, allowing them to generate novel content that is not a direct copy of their training inputs.
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Image Rights (name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights) broadly refer to an individual's persona protection under intellectual property laws, especially in the context of (academic) sports, which allows individuals to manage how their names and images are used for commercial reasons. Courts have long wrestled with two key aspects of this right: defining "commercial use" of a name or likeness and identifying which features of a person's "likeness" are safeguarded from unauthorized use. Lacking a solid theoretical basis for the right of publicity, the interpretations of these concepts have expanded significantly. Now, almost any mention of a person that financially benefits another can be considered an infringement of the right of publicity.
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- Date: 4 May 2024
- By: Jacek Markowski
- Categories: IP
Intellectual Property (IP) encompasses the legally recognized exclusive rights to creations of the human mind. Under IP law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and word marks, symbols, and designs. These rights are intended to encourage the creation of a wide variety of intellectual goods, by giving legal protection to the creators' interests while balancing public access to use such IP.
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The contribution provides a general analysis of licensing as authorizing act, starting with an exploration of its role in different contexts (administrative, for example) and following with a clarification of its main features and possible structures, that allow licensing to adapt to many different business interests. After the initial overview, the contribution focuses on the role and characteristics of licensing in video games and competitive gaming (s.c. esports) industry. In particular, it explains the significance of licensing in facilitating both the production and distribution of video games – as part of more complex deals such as publishing agreements and cross-media licensing – and the authorization regime necessary to lawfully realize esports events and tournaments. As final notes, the contribution mentions the pivotal role of licensing in sponsorship agreements, which fuel the growth of esports by providing economic support in exchange for visibility of, often, traditional brands looking to get acknowledged by youngsters.
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User generated content (UGC) can include both in-game creations, such as avatars and player-made skins, and content outwith the game, such as streams and mods. UGC is becoming increasingly prevalent as a by-product of game play, and as a means of generating revenue for commercial streamers. UGC is primarily regulated by intellectual property law, which may place substantial restrictions on how UGC can be created and distributed, unless specified otherwise by the game owner (e.g., in a UGC policy). As UGC is usually platform-dependent, being hosted on a third party website such as Twitch, there may also be platform-specific terms which regulate how UGC is shared separately from the legal framework.
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