Athletics & Sporters

Athletics and sport persons, also called Sport Figures, need to work hard to come to excellent results which are providing entertainment value for the public. As a result of their high entertainment value the public is willing to pay for tickets to the game but also for clothing, shoes, video games and other merchandises which are referring to the respective Sport Figure. In this scope the protection and the exploitation of the image rights of the Sport Figure are of importance to achieve additional non playing income by the Sport Figure.

Sport figures & image rights

From an economic perspective image rights are of a great importance for Sport Figures. Apart from direct sport results, such as the winning of matches and games, Sport Figures can gain substantial additional income by means of the exploitation of their image rights. The income derived from the exploitation of image rights in the US is in most cases higher than in Europe. Nevertheless due to cross border exploitation of image rights in several continents of the world the protection of image rights is becoming more and more of importance.

Sport Figures earn money from participating in sport matches and sport events. This is the so called: “Playing Income”. However now days the greatest part of the income of successful Sport Figures is earned from endorsement deals and sponsorships. The payment for these deals will be based on the licensing of the image rights of the Sport Figure. This is called the “Non Playing Income”. The Non Playing Income has the ability to continue long after the Playing Income ceases. Therefore it is of importance to create a strategy how to manage the image rights of a Sport Figure for a long period. Due to the increasing complexity of image rights deals and the involved licensing processes expert guidance is required to achieve satisfying results.

For example in the case of team sports the unauthorized use of players their image rights or the loss of their exclusive use of their image rights may deprive the players from a fair share of the club’s lucrative endorsement contracts. Furthermore, the existence of products like video games bearing a players image without his or her authorization can in some cases seriously damage the value of the players licensing rights.

For the purposes of licensing of image rights it is of importance to have the image rights correctly registered and protected. Most jurisdictions are not providing clear and efficient manners to register image rights based on their legislation. Even when the Sport Figure has established an image rights company if the management and legal property of the underlying image rights - in the name of the image right company - is not sufficiently and legally correct registered there might be significant repercussions at a later date. Such including adverse tax consequences.

As of 2012 Guernsey introduced the world’s first register able image right which gives the ability to register, protect and license image rights. This register is now day’s used by individuals who have in common an ability to generate significant wealth from the use of their image in conjunction or quite apart from what they might do for their day job.

The Guernsey Image Right allows personalities to register their images, videos, nicknames, mannerisms and any distinctive characteristics that identify them. These rights are registered on the register and can include all of those features that are so difficult to define in a Sport Figure’s endorsement, sponsoring or merchandising contract. Consequently vague definitions for gestures and mannerism of the Sport Figures can be avoided and now days can be clearly defined in the contracts. A clear registration of image rights provides not only the advantage of clarity it is also of importance for succession planning, wealth management and potential enforcement.

Services

We are offering the following services to achieve receiving of tax neutral Indirect Playing Income for Sport Figures:

• registration of Sport Figures their images in the Guernsey Image Rights register;
• drafting of endorsement, sponsoring and or merchandise agreements for Sport Figures; and
• setting up of licensing companies to achieve asset protection and tax neutral exploitation of the Sport Figures registered image rights.

Please contact us to apply for our services.