Research On The Legal Protection Of Sports Event Broadcasting Rights

Sports broadcast rights are the rights of media to live sports events,which come from the authorization of sports events' holders.Sports events refer to opening and closing ceremonies,and competitive process.As property rights,Sports broadcast rights are bought and greatly invested,finally bringing high ratings and economic benefits.There is no special legislation of the rights in our law,and disputes lie in whether the rights are copyrights,adjacent vortex,real rights,commercialization rights,or contract rights.Competitive process is not a work,while opening or closing ceremony might be.Basing on our current Copyright Law,despite the originality of a live sports event,if a program has originality,it can be a work applicable to copyrights,otherwise it is a video product applicable to broadcasting organization right.Protecting Sports broadcast right has its theoretical basis on Locke 's theory of labor and property,"Input-output" economic philosophy,and the principle of fair and equitable,and realistic value of developing copyright industry,protecting media's rights,perfecting our law and adapt to the development of information network.The infringement in this field has been emerging due to the simplicity of the infringement and the benefit it brings.However,the lack of law causes no powerful relief.This problem seems much lighter in some foreign countries,for their legislations are better.Anglo-American countries enjoy a lower originality standard and regard the right as copyright,while Civil law countries regard the right adjacent vortex.Faced with our blank regulation in this field,and to seek a protection for Sports broadcast rights,we may look into the Contract law,Anti-Unfair Competition Law,and Copyright law.And it proved that they don't perfectly work and damaged the unity of judgment.In Copyright Law(Revised Draft),Video producer rights,Broadcast rights,Broadcast organizer rights have been modified.Hence,sports broadcasters may enjoy a brighter future of protection.But the Revised Draft remains some disadvantages,and we should clear the source and legal status of Sports broadcast rights,expand the content of Broadcasting organization rights,and perfect the regulations of play rights and Information network communication rights.