Combatting the threat of drones to sports media and data rights

There has long pervaded the issue of unofficial filming and data collection in-stadia. From “courtsiding” at tennis matches to fans posting unauthorised video clips of goals from football matches on social media, this unofficial data collection can potentially significantly dilute the value of the media and data rights for rightsholders.

Fortunately, rightsholders have become increasingly proficient at dealing with individuals in-stadia who are operating in breach of the terms and conditions of entry, with dedicated staff employed to identify and eject them from the premises.

But what happens when the unauthorised collection of data or footage occurs outside of stadia?  To try and get to the bottom of this, we will look at the growing use of drones to capture video footage, the legal protections that may be available to sports media rights holders and take a glance at what may be coming on the horizon. This article examines:

• The growing use of drones to capture video footage
• The legal protections available to sports rights holders:
  • Health and safety actions
  • In-stadia vs outside of stadia (breach of ticketing terms)
  • Privacy laws
• Copyright and / or trademark infringement
• Comment