The Issue of “Deep Control” In Professional E-Sports – A Critical Analysis of Intellectual Property Structures in Electronic Gaming

Abstract

This thesis deals with the issue of what the author calls “deep control” through IP law in the area of electronic sports (e-sports). The term is chosen because publishers of electronic games are able not only to protect the market of their original product, the game, but can also control downstream markets. The production of e-sports competition broadcasts, intended for the consumption via viewing as opposed to the active playing of the game, is such a downstream market. So far, the legal issues involved in e-sports production have only attracted limited interest from scholars and case law addressing these particular issues hardly exists. Therefore, the first part of this work sets out to describe the structures of IP rights in e-sports with special focus on copyright law. Next, it is shown how these rights confer deep control onto the publisher. The paper concludes with an economic analysis.