Welcome to the Spring 2011 edition of the Sports and Sponsorship eBulletin. In this edition we focus on the possible implications for sports content rightsholders of the so called "pub football cases" as well as other high-profile matters which are affecting the sports industry including spot-fixing, match-fixing, database rights and the ongoing NFL lock-out. Please click on the relevant headlines below to link to the full articles.

We also summarise the recent work which the Sports and Sponsorship Group has been involved in.

The Opinion of the Advocate General ("AG") in FAPL v. QC Leisure has sent a sizeable shiver down the spines of media and sports rightsholders across Europe. It was stated that the long established practice of distributing live football broadcast feeds on a territorially exclusive basis, and prohibiting licensees from making such feeds available to consumers based outside of their designated territory is inconsistent with Europe's single market principle and incompatible with European law. The fear is that exclusive territorial licensing arrangements could be deemed to be void and unenforceable if the European Court of Justice agrees with the AG's Opinion when it provides its judgment later this year.

To read more on this, please click here.

The European General Court has held that the decision by Ofcom to protect the matches comprising the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Football Championship as "listed events" under the Broadcasting Act is compatible with European legislation and does not infringe European competition law.

An International Cricket Council tribunal banned three Pakistan cricketers from all cricketing activities for after they were found guilty of 'spot-fixing' during the Test series between England and Pakistan last summer. Alongside the ICC investigation, the UK Crown Prosecution Service has been undertaking a separate criminal investigation into the players' spot-fixing activities. The players could face a prison term if found guilty of either of these criminal offences.

The UK Court of Appeal has asked the European Court of Justice to clarify the law regarding database rights and in particular whether 'online publishing' takes place where the server containing the data is hosted or where it is read, following a claim by a prominent UK sports database rightsholder that a foreign company copied its statistics.

The International Cycling Unionand the World Anti-Doping Agency have decided to both appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against RFEC's decision not to ban cyclist Alberto Contador for testing positive for the banned anabolic agent Clenbuterol, during last year's Tour de France.

• Bob Mitchell and Anil Matharu advised the Team England Player Partnership (the England Cricket Team) in relation to the negotiation and conclusion of a long term remuneration deal with the ECB. Bob and Anil also advised the England Cricket Team in relation to the terms of the players' current Central Contracts which expire on 30 September 2011, as well as in relation to the terms of the players' tour contracts for the team's successful defence of the Ashes in Australia and the recent ICC Cricket World Cup in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
  
• Gerrard Tyrrell and Bob Mitchell also advised the England players in relation to the match fixing allegations made against them by Ijaz Butt, Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the PCB during the Pakistan Cricket Team's tour to England last autumn. On 29 September 2010 Mr. Butt and the PCB issued a retraction and apology both to the players and the ECB.
  
• Bob Mitchell and Paul Groves advised Vodafone on the renewal of its title sponsorship of the McLaren Mercedes F1 team until the end of 2013.
  
• Anil Matharu advised the European Tour in relation to updating the terms of its template promoter agreement for its European based tournaments.
  
• Paul Cairns advised EA SPORTS in relation to the renewal of its exclusive videogames licence with the German Bundesliga/Deutsche Fussball Liga.
  
• Having previously advised Chelsea Football Club in relation to the development of its template image rights agreement, Paul Cairns and Paul Groves continue to advise Chelsea in relation to the negotiation of its image rights arrangements with several players in its first team squad.
  
• Anil Matharu advised Tom Daley in relation to various endorsement agreements with Nestlé and BMW.