Are sports image rights assets? A legal, economic and tax perspective

This paper highlights the factors to consider in entering into sports agreements including the tax treatment applied to image rights and the recent update and commentary of the Inland Revenue (HRMC) to their capital gains tax manual on the taxation of image rights. The commentary of HRMC on image rights is yet another indication that, although traditional common law remedies will evolve further in the light of the growing commercialisation of image rights, a formal legislative or jurisprudential recognition of personality rights remains unlikely in the near future in the UK

Sports image rights in the UK – countering tax evasion in the football industry

The debate over more effective tax regulation for top-earning athletes has recently intensified, following media reports about tax evasion in the football industry and the potential abuse of image rights arrangements to reduce tax liabilities. According to the 2016/2017 report by the UK Public Accounts Committee, 43 players, including Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney, 12 clubs and eight agents are currently the subject of open tax inquiries related to image rights agreements. In separate investigations, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho, have been targeted by Spanish and British tax authorities for allegedly moving more than £100 million in a tax avoidance scheme on the British Islands. This article provides an update on the status of recent efforts to reform the taxation of foreign domiciled persons and offshore trusts as at January 2017. The new rules may have implications on tax and image right structures commonly used by foreign wealthy footballers in or moving to the UK. While the proposals are a step in the right direction, it is noted that existing and forthcoming tax rules must be enforced more effectively to reduce tax evasion in the sports and entertainment industry to a bearable minimum

Celebrity image rights versus public interest: striking the right balance under German law

This article analyses the background and latest developments in the case-law in Germany which deals with the commercial exploitation of an individual's personality as a special form of manifestation of the general right of personality. It will be considered how the German Federal Court of Justice strikes the balance between legitimate public interest in a celebrities' personality and a mere business interest. As the debate about the recognition of image rights in the UK is gathering momentum in the wake of the recent decision of the UK High Court of Justice which considered Rihanna, the pop star, and the clothes chain Topshop and the unauthorised use of Rihanna's image on T-shirts, this article will be of real interest to legal practitioners and academics concerned with comparative law and the protection of personality and image rights in Germany

An impact case study on cybercrime: what have we learned so far?

Aim: Developing and achieving research impact is one of the biggest challenges faced by researchers today. This presentation covered the meaning of impact in relation to our new research project on developing effective strategies for supporting victims of cybercrime. The presentation illuminated the different types of research impact and how impact can be planned into proposals, evaluated and evidenced. In addition, our presentation focused on the various factors to consider in developing impactful research, including preliminary tasks like creating a coherent narrative, choosing the right methodology and engaging potential participants and shareholders. The presentation sought to provide other researchers at similar stages of development with practical ideas and suggestions on how to develop and achieve impact in their own research. Content: The session discussed the principal aim of the research project, which is to measure the prevalence and impact of different types of cybercrime in the broader London Borough of Ealing and assess relevant community needs. It provided a detailed insight into the core research objectives of the study and explained how the researchers aim to achieve and corroborate the research impact by, for example, raising public awareness and developing training packages

Image rights: Exploitation and legal control in English and Hungarian law

In the past decades due to changed technical advances, features of the personality have become economically exploitable to an extent not previously known. Pop stars, TV celebrities as well as famous athletes have sought protection against the commercial use of their images, names and likenesses without their consent.1 Despite the economic value of personality and image rights, there is currently no international standard or agreed legal concept for recognising an image right. While many jurisdictions, for example, the US, Germany, France and Hungary offer express statutory protection against the unauthorised commercial use of an individual’s image by a third party in the context of publicity or personality rights, English law provides no cause of action for the infringement of image rights as such. Although a celebrity may currently obtain protection through various statutory and common law rights, such as the developing law of privacy, trade mark law breach of confidence and, in particular, the tort of passing off, none of these rights were designed to protect image or personality rights.2 In this context, this article explores the potentially enforceable rights, their benefits and practical strategies to protect name and image rights in the UK3 and Hungary

Restoring lost honour: the assessment of libel damages in Germany

This article critically highlights the effectiveness of the German civil tort of defamation and its remedies. It considers the development and level of immaterial damages in Germany with respect to the infringement of an individual’s personality right, analysing the significance of the recent Kachelmann case, where the highest ever compensation of 635,000 EUR in damages for pain and suffering for a defamation suit was awarded

Credit rating agencies – too big to fail?

This article examines the reforms introduced in the US and the EU to limit the power of credit rating agencies and address their organisational and structural problems that were exposed by the global financial crisis. It discusses the relevant provisions of the US Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act 2010 and notes their current stage of implementation. Summarises the measures introduced by Regulation 513/2011

Morality, utility, reality? Justifying celebrity rights in the 21st century

Despite the growing commercial significance of image rights, the recognition, justification and extent of protection for a person’s 'persona' – his public image, remain disputed among legal scholars. This article reviews the three most influential theories of intellectual property rights and examines their applicability to the protection of a celebrities’ public image. The article addresses the most common criticism raised about publicity rights in the U.S., a recognised pioneer and leader among nations in protecting celebrity rights. It assesses the scope, the moral, economic and cultural benefits of celebrity rights from both a legal and sociocultural perspective, offering a new, wider conception of the 'creator' in the intellectual property theory. Highlighting the legal background and development of image right protection in the U.S., UK and Europe in the wake of the UK vote to leave the European Union, the author argues that, although there is currently no unified approach with respect to image right protection, returning to and rethinking unifying traditional philosophical justifications for intellectual property rights could help promote a more workable and enforceable harmonised international standard in this area of law

Headwind from Europe: the new position of the German courts on personality rights after the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights

This article illustrates the old and introduces the new German jurisprudence in relation to personality rights. It further examines how the BGH and the BVerfG have reacted to the critics of the ECHR by developing and defining the limits of the graded protected concept (abgestuftes Schutzkonzept) and giving up the absolute figure of contemporary history (absolute Person der Zeitgeschichte). Where necessary for the purpose of a better understanding of German law, a comparative approach to United States law will be provided. Since the debate about the adoption of a federal right of publicity is continuing in the United States, the recent developments in Germany and Europe might be of particular interest to the American jurist