Games and e-sports play a major role in our legal practice
Our lawyers provide ongoing advice in the area of games and e-sports, with our specialists in contract law, copyright, data protection, consumer protection, sports law and youth protection all being frequently involved. CMS is thus able to provide you with specialised legal advice backed by extensive industry knowledge, particularly in the following matters:
- Contract design, e.g.
- in connection with the development of games and platform products, including setting up suitable cloud solutions
- when implementing e-sports events, including agreements with game publishers, organisers, e-sports teams, sponsors and media partners
- marketing agreements
- Regulatory requirements, e.g. youth protection and broadcasting law
- Requirements under consumer protection legislation and monetisation options, e.g. in-game advertising and in-game sales
- Copyright issues
- General terms & conditions, terms of use and privacy and cookie statements, e.g. for competitive gaming products
- Countering liability claims and handling litigation and arbitration
We understand the sector and develop tailored strategies
Our lawyers know the industry and are happy to work with you to develop long-term strategies and comprehensive solutions. In doing so, we bear in mind the complex interplay between the various stakeholders and their negotiating positions (e-sports events, for example, require intricate cooperation between a wide range of individuals: game publishers, organisers, e-sports teams and players, sponsors and media partners/publishers, etc.).
This enables us not only to propose legally viable solutions, but also to develop tailored strategies which are always focused on the same objective: optimising your added value.
Notable instructions in Europe
Legal advice on games and e-sports (selection)
| establishment of an e-sports association and professional e-sports league involving the world's best-known e-sports teams and the Electronic Sports League (ESL), including drafting of detailed regulations and establishing a dedicated arbitration tribunal |
| ongoing legal advice for the world's largest organiser of e-sports events |
| advice on setting up a competitive gaming platform |
Sport (selection)
| advice on sale of media rights |
| advice on sale of media rights and acquisition of a broadcasting licence |
| advice on sale of media rights and acquisition of a broadcasting licence |
Licensing and new media (selection)
| advising a world-leading e-commerce platform on licensing sport content |
| advising a world-leading hardware provider in relation to its app, music and video platforms |
| advice on content licensing |
| comprehensive advice and drafting the invitation to tender for online and offline computer games and also for the establishment of an official online Bundesliga |
| assertion of claims against the football association of Kazakhstan concerning unjustified extraordinary termination of the agency agreement. Matters involving international service of documents and enforcement. Cross-border: Germany, Switzerland, Kazakhstan |
Sponsorship and advertising (selection)
| advice on sports betting sponsorship |
| advice on sports betting sponsorship |
New products (selection)
| advice on data protection related to the market launch of a smartwatch/wearables |
| advice on business model related to e-commerce and product compliance on entering the German market with an innovative games concept and other products |
Information technology (selection)
| extensive ongoing advice, particularly with regard to media and corporate law (approval issues, cable and satellite distribution, taking of stakes by investors), contract design and structuring of end customer terms and conditions |
| advice on acquisition of all the shares in ubivent GmbH (provider of virtual events) from the managing shareholders |
| representation in landmark cases concerning virtual video recorders; negotiations with collecting society GEMA on the acquisition of cable re-broadcasting rights; advice and representation vis-à-vis the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM) related to certification of the world's first procedure for age verification via webcams |
