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6 Bus. L. Int'l 270 (2005)
Protecting Sports Image Rights in Europe

handle is hein.journals/blawintnl2005 and id is 274 raw text is: Protecting Sports Image Rights in Europe Ian Blackshaw* Sport is now big business and sports marketing has become an industry in its own right. In particular, sportspersons and teams have developed very valuable rights in their names, images and likenesses, which they need to protect. This article examines the kinds of legal protection available in the European Union in which the sports industry now represents almost two per cent of the combined gross national product (GNP) of its Member States. The article also draws some salient conclusions about the nature and level of legal protection available and makes suggestions for improving the situation. Introductory remarks We live in an age in which image rules and perception is paramount. This is not limited to celebrities, who are anxious to project their persona and thus maintain their celebrity status and popularity and, in turn, their marketability; the phenomenon also extends to companies and their products, which, if they are to be successful in our consumer-oriented and materialistic society, need to convey a positive image in order to command the attention of customers and increase sales. This is all down to branding, whose current importance cannot be overemphasised and has been likened by Peter York, the style guru, to a kind of new religion: • Ian Blackshaw is an international sports lawyer; member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Lausanne, Switzerland; Visiting Professor at the International Centre for Sports Studies at Neuchatel University, Switzerland; and co-editor of Sports Image Rights Europe (TMC Asser Press, The Hague, Netherlands). He can be contacted by e-mail at cblackshawg@aol.com.

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