Industry Liabilities

In Summarizing the textbook, Law In Sport, intellectual property “is the body of laws that protect the creative aspects of the sport industry. The law also protects the commercial aspects of a celebrity athlete’s persona, but not facts or statistics that are already in the public domain.” Furthermore, litigation is often the result of those who infringe on the intellectual property of an organization. With modern day technology continuing to produce digital media at an accelerated pace, issues with intellectual property is bound to occur more frequently than ever before.

There are many examples involving technology and its affect on intellectual properties. Last weekend, the highly anticipated fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao was expected to draw 3 million pay-per-view buys. While the butyrate for the marquee showdown have yet to be released, it was reported that fans were able to watch the fight free on social media. According to the Fox affiliate in San Francisco, KTVU, new mobile applications, Periscope and Meerkat, were used in the rebroadcasting of the fight onto the internet.

Watching PPV events free is nothing new. Twenty years ago, people would watch events illegally through the access of “hot boxes.” When analog cable boxes switched over to digital, it put an empathic end on using those boxes to catch events at no cost. However, as technology continued to improve, so did the ways of beating the system. The illegal stream of events on the internet has expanded over the last decade, but now with smartphones and the inception of such applications, piracy continues to be challenged.

Unfortunately, the Boxing world is not the only sport affected by the use of these applications. Periscope is affecting the four major sports and teams have to be aware of this, because it also can affect their broadcast media rights. According to an article on Chicago Business, fans are becoming “high-definition broadcasters,” where they are able to use the app Periscope to record high-definition video footage and upload it onto the internet. It is a double-edged sword for stadiums and ballparks, as they increased the amount of data for Wi-Fi capabilities, for fans to upload photos, and to live tweet during games, but now have to police entire arenas to make sure copyright laws are not violated.

Beyond sports, the music and film industries are impacted by illegal downloads, the illegal streaming of media, and the overall challenges of getting consumers to purchase media. In a rather insightful piece on The Australian website, writer Jonathan Dean speaks to many individuals in the industry about their views and perception about consumers and lack of willingness to pay for content anymore, and the effects it has on artists, actors, and the studios as well. 

One quote from the article stood out, which is: “As streaming becomes the way that most under-35’s listen, labels are forced to explain to anyone born after 1980 that, well people used to pay for this stuff.” I completely understand his point of view, but it is also the evolution of the entertainment industry and the improvements of digital media and technology. Personally, I do not completely rely on digital media. Yes, I have streaming subscriptions to WWE Network and to Netflix. However, I do not watch every movie on Netflix. I still rent movies from Redbox and I wish video stores still existed. I still rely on cable to watch my TV shows, and do use a DVR (which is very similar, yet more convenient, than when people used to REC their favorite shows). I still listen to the radio, and use my CD player in my car on a daily basis. I have incorporated modern technology into my life, but it is the evolution of the industry. Years from now, there will be new methods to listen and watch our favorites.

The film industry continues to be affected by hackers leaking new movies before their release dates, with last summer’s Expendables 3 as one of the most recent casualties. Due to the early release of the film online, it impact the overall box office total and may have hurt the series from continuing.

Protecting the intellectual property laws is crucial, as it has major ramifications on its particular industry. Yes, there will always be those who pirate sporting events and pay-per-view broadcasts and those who challenge the system, yet the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security will continue their best to prevent hackers and illegal streaming from happening. It is nearly impossible to completely stop the madness but, as someone with aspirations in the Sports and Entertainment industry, it is unfair for any musician, athlete, actor, or anyone involved on the business end, to have their careers affected by those who want to reap all the rewards without investing into the product.