Publications

Welcome to the January 2012 edition of the Sports and Sponsorship eBulletin. In this edition we focus on the possible implications for British football clubs in light of the new UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations as well as other high-profile matters affecting the sports industry, such as spot-fixing, the ongoing dispute between the BOA and WADA and the Court of Appeal's decision in Rooney v. Proactive.

In December 2011, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment on the latest instalment of the long-running dispute between Wayne Rooney and his former management company, Proactive Sports Management Limited, in relation to an image rights agreement entered into between them in 2003.

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.

It has been another unusual year, and although many clients continued to face difficult markets, an increasingly large proportion have been thriving. Has a corner been turned? We don't think so yet - but the signs are encouraging, and we have begun 2011 with great optimism.

Read the Annual Review of our work and achievements from 2010.

A case comment from the International Sports Law Review regarding the organisers of professional football matches taking the lead in the battle to prevent the unauthorised use of their fixture lists.

Read about recent developments and cases in the legal world of sports and sponsorship and find out what the Sports and Sponsorship Groups at Harbottle & Lewis have been working on in recent months.

Employers are gearing up for weeks of football-related disruption. This is a guide to help managers cope with employment issues arising from the World Cup, as well as offering hints on how best to manage employees effectively over the coming weeks.

Since the introduction of the Finance Act 1986, HMRC has sought to tax non-resident, non-domiciled athletes competing in the UK both on the earnings they make while they are in the UK as well as on a proportion of their global endorsement income. The theory behind this decision is that a proportion of athletes' endorsement income can be directly linked to their performance in competitions held in the UK.

Read about recent developments and cases in the legal world of sports and sponsorship and find out what the Sports and Sponsorship Groups at Harbottle & Lewis have been working on in recent months.