The Business of Sports and Copyright: A Summary of our 2026 World IP Day Webinar
The 2026 World IP Day (WIPD) theme was IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate. To celebrate this monumental holiday, the Copyright Alliance assembled a live webinar titled The Business of Sports and Copyright.
Our WIPD event was moderated by Miriam Lord, who is the Associate Register of Copyright and Director of Public Information and Education at the U.S. Copyright Office.
With Miriam’s guidance, the conversation with our expert panelists turned into a cohesive narrative that highlights the evolving role of copyright in sports. And, in sum, the discussion brought together five experts from esports, music, safety standards, and anti-piracy enforcement to explore how copyright shapes the modern sports ecosystem.
A full video recording is now available online for viewing. In addition, this blog breaks down some of the information shared by these experts. Here is an overview of some of the answers given by each of the panelists.
What Are Esports and How Does Copyright Apply?
Panelist Who Answered the Question: Michael Lewis is the Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Law and Policy at Entertainment Software Association (ESA).
Lewis defined esports as organized, sporting competition surrounding a particular video game title. He explained that esports have grown rapidly over the past decade, especially during the pandemic, because people were unable to go to live sporting events.
Esports have taken center stage due to its growth in popularity, which has spurred debate over whether it is considered a “sport” in the traditional sense. Lewis confidently stated that esports incorporates many of the same attributes of traditional sports and that the skill level that esports participants have to demonstrate is absolutely top tier.
Copyright is a foundational pillar of the video game industry and encourages and supports creative game development and innovative distribution models. How copyright and other intellectual property (IP) applies to esports differs significantly from traditional sports.
Lewis emphasized that video games are built entirely on intellectual property, including:
- Source code (core functionality)
- Visual artwork and design
- Music, voice acting, and sound effects
- Characters and storylines
Because of this, copyright is foundational, and not incidental, to esports.
He also highlighted two major legal and policy challenges:
1. Cheating and Copyright Infringement
Cheating often involves injecting unauthorized code into games. This may offer participants a particular advantage for the game they are playing. If so, this raises some important considerations: (i) DMCA Section 1201 circumvention issues; and (ii) copyright infringement concerns when game code is copied or altered.
2. Regulation vs. IP Ownership
Unlike traditional sports governed by independent bodies, esports competitions depend on game publishers who own the IP.
Lewis noted that policymakers often misunderstand this distinction, attempting to regulate esports like traditional sports. However, doing so can conflict with copyright ownership. For instance, if someone wants to organize an esports event, they must first obtain permission from the publisher to play a specific game.
His conclusion: esports cannot be regulated effectively without accounting for intellectual property rights and understanding that there are distinct differences between esports and traditional sports.
How Does Music Licensing Work in Sports?
Panelist Who Answered the Question: Randy Cinco is the Vice President, Business Affairs and Licensing, BMI.
Cinco explained that music is a core part of the sports experience, shaping atmosphere, emotion, and fan engagement both in stadiums and in broadcasts.
He clarified the critical concept that every song involves two separate copyrights:
1. Musical Composition
The musical composition is the underlying song. The notes, the melody, and the lyrics created by the songwriter or composer. The copyright in the musical composition is owned by the musicians who created the song. The Copyright Act grants several exclusive rights to those who own the copyright.
When it comes to musical compositions, Cinco briefly highlighted the public performance rights (which covers the right to publicly perform) and synchronization right (which covers the rights to reproduce and copy the work and to create derivative works).
2. Sound Recording
There is also a separate copyright in the sound recording, which protects the specific recorded performance that you hear. This is created by the performer in some sort of medium and is typically controlled by a record label.
Overall, sound recordings have a more limited set of exclusive rights under copyright than musical compositions have. This is because there is no terrestrial public performance right in the performance of a sound recording— only the right to transmit a sound recording digitally.
The main type of license for use of a sound recording is the master use license, which can cover uses similar to those covered by the synchronization license for musical works.
Cinco noted that when a song is played at a sporting event or a broadcast, you’re almost always using the musical composition, but you’re may not always necessarily be using the original sound recording. It’s important to understand these layers of rights and the different players that own those rights in a given song in order to obtain a license from the correct rightsholder and in order to conduct your event in a way that doesn’t infringe on the copyright owner’s rights.
The Role of Performing Rights Organizations (PROs)
BMI and other PROs (e.g., ASCAP, SESAC, GMR, and more) license the public performance right for creators of the musical composition.
Cinco stated that BMI and the other PROs will license for public performance:
- Stadium music (live or recorded)
- Broadcasts and streaming
- Social media
To simplify licensing, PROs offer blanket licenses, allowing sports organizations and broadcasters to use large catalogs of music without negotiating individual deals on a song-by-song basis.
However, for broadcasts and streams of recorded content, sync and master rights must be cleared separately, often on a song-by-song basis. Social media may also require clearing those rights.
What is the Role of Codes and Standards in Sports Safety?
Panelist Who Answered the Question: Christian (Chris) Dubay, Vice President and Chief Engineer, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
Chris Dubay started off by stating that, although it isn’t initially obvious, standards developers are copyright owners who play a critical role in sports safety.
Developed by Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) like NFPA, these guidelines regulate critical infrastructure, including:
- Electrical systems (NFPA 70)
- Fire alarms (NFPA 72)
- Sprinkler systems (NFPA 13)
- Emergency exits and life safety (NFPA 101)
Dubay emphasized that these standards protect fans attending events, athletes competing, and first responders handling emergencies.
Why Copyright Matters for Standards
NFPA is a self-funded nonprofit that relies on selling their copyrighted codes and standards to those that use them, such as contractors, builders, engineers, and others, although, they do provide their codes and standards online for free and allow anyone to access them.
While all NFPA codes and standards are accessible online for free viewing, licensing revenue supports the NFPA’s ability to re-invest and develop even more rigorous and high-quality standards that keep pace with changing technology, emerging hazards, and global safety initiatives. The continual updating and developing of NFPA’s standards has been critical to ensuring public safety and minimizing safety risks to athletes, first responders, and sports attendees everywhere in the world.
Dubay warned that if standards incorporated into law should lose copyright protection, it would pose a serious threat to public safety. According to Dubay, weakening copyright protections could undermine the standards system, disrupt public-private partnerships, and ultimately impact public safety.
How Does ACE Combat Sports Piracy?
Panelist Who Answered the Question: Guillermo Rodriguez, Director of Live Content Protection, Motion Picture Association (MPA), and Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE).
Rodriguez explained that the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) is a global coalition combating digital piracy, including illegal sports streaming. He described modern piracy as highly organized, sophisticated, and transnational, noting that it is now very common to see international operations involving content theft in one region, distribution in another, and financial transactions spanning multiple countries. To combat digital piracy, ACE follows a three-pillar strategy:
- Detect
- Deter
- Dismantle
Rodriguez stated that the main challenge in protecting live IP assets is that takedown processes do not always operate at the speed required. Live sports are particularly vulnerable to these delays because their value lies in their real-time nature, diminishing significantly once the event concludes. Every minute matters, and each second that content is pirated results in substantial losses for rights holders. This makes rapid enforcement essential.
He emphasized that effective, active cooperation among key stakeholders is critical to responding quickly to live event piracy. These stakeholders, many of whom collaborate with ACE, include hosting providers, content delivery networks (CDNs), social media platforms, and law enforcement agencies. Their combined efforts enable action across the entire piracy ecosystem, from the initial theft of content on digital platforms to its distribution and eventual consumption on users’ devices. Rodriguez concluded that ACE is not only protecting individual assets, but the industry as a whole, including the professionals behind live sporting events whose livelihoods are affected by the diversion of audiences from legitimate platforms to pirate streams, as well as the investments required to produce unique audiovisual content. He also highlighted that ACE’s efforts extend to protecting consumers, who may unknowingly expose their personal data or devices to malware when accessing illegal streams.
How Does UFC Address Piracy and the Role of the DMCA?
Panelist Who Answered This Question: Edward Muncey, Co-Founder of Stream Enforcement LLC and Anti-Piracy Representative, UFC.
UFC is on the front lines of piracy. Edward Muncey explained that UFC events are global, high-demand broadcasts that attract an overwhelming amount of piracy, often beginning during free preliminary fights. Yes, even free content can experience significant piracy. Piracy spreads rapidly across all platforms, illegal streams promote backup links and mirror sites, and activity intensifies even further during paid main events.
The Role of the DMCA
Muncey highlighted the importance of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which provides the legal framework for takedown requests when piracy occurs. However, he noted a major misunderstanding in the DMCA is the term “expeditious removal.” Some people interpret it as “in a few days,” when it actually should mean immediate action is needed. To be effective, anti-piracy efforts for live sports programming needs to take place immediately, within minutes of being notified. There needs to be real-time enforcement and a faster takedown process. Muncey further emphasized that piracy enforcement is an ongoing, high-intensity effort requiring constant monitoring.
How Is Artificial Intelligence Impacting Sports and Copyright?
All World IP Day Webinar Panelists Answered This Question
Artificial intelligence emerged as a cross-cutting issue affecting every industry represented on the panel. Here’s an overview of what each panelist had to say when it comes to AI:
Michael Lewis started off his answer by focusing on the impact of AI, as his members work with LLMs to prevent cheating in the video games and esports industries. Generative AI has been used to scan games to make sure there’s a level playing field. Often, when it looks like a computer is participating in the game, it very well might be a computer. Additionally, Lewis believes that we’re just scraping the surface of how we can use AI in a positive way within the video game space.
Randy Cinco said that AI is a huge issue within the music industry, especially generative AI. He further stated that the training of LLMs and the copyrighted works that they use impacts AI output. AI is supposed to be a tool to help songwriters and composers, not replace their creativity entirely. He added that there needs to be more discussion about not only the challenges creators are having with AI, but also the opportunities. AI is reshaping music creation, with a growing number of songwriters using it.
Chris Dubay added that AI often gives really bad advice when it comes to safety problems. At the same time, AI can be effective at pointing out what was missed. It can also be a copyright challenge for codes and standards, and it’s also something that cannot be relied on to make strong safety decisions. It cannot replace human technical experts around the world.
Guillermo Rodriguez said that, from his perspective, he believes AI presents some great opportunities, but also some very big threats. For instance, AI can be used as a very powerful tool to help avoid manual work and also give a faster response time. However, pirates are also starting to use AI and move faster. Rodriguez believes there should be some sort of legal framework that can return confidence to the industry. We need to protect IP related to AI and avoid situations where an AI is being used to spread viruses.
Edward Muncey concluded this question by addressing the importance of getting ahead of everything and predicting what the future holds. There have been early signs of AI using trademarks or creating counterfeit sites. There are counterfeit sites going up so quickly and numerous accounts being set up all at once, all on different platforms. That’s why we need a notice and takedown process that acts quickly. It’s too early to see how AI will further manifest itself years down the road, so Muncey emphasizes how important it is to stay on top of it.
What Legal Changes or Tools Are Needed?
All Panelists Answered This Question Too
In the final discussion, panelists outlined policy and enforcement improvements needed to support their industries.
Michael Lewis said, “What I want to focus on is more policy related tools as it relates to copyright and enforcement. There hasn’t been an Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator in the last administration, or in this administration. I would love to see a greater emphasis put on intellectual property policy, both on the innovation side, as well as the enforcement side.”
Randy Cinco stated that BMI has supported a number of bills circulating in Congress. What they really want to aim for is making sure songwriters and composers get compensated fairly, and that their right to consent to use of their works is respected. That includes whether a creator’s work is being used for AI training purposes and that they are given credit as well. He emphasized that their team has supported, and continues to support, ways to address and protect creators; for example, a bill against fake performances, where a performer’s image, likeness, or voice is copied by generative AI services.
Chris Dubay noted that the big issue NFPA is focusing on is the law, when it comes to artificial intelligence. They are working with Congress on pass the Pro Codes Act. NFPA wants to ensure that copyrights to standards and codes are protected.
Guillermo Rodriguez discussed how essential it is to have changes to the law that can support day-to-day work. Dynamic site blocking is one of those very powerful weapons that can help ACE deal with large-scale infringements. Rodriguez added that it’s understandable that laws take time to be implemented, so it would be great to implement some changes that can be facilitated quickly. It’s also essential to have a very structured and effective policy against repeat offenders and be able to act faster by allocating a full team 24/7.
Edward Muncey explained that the number one update needed is to the DMCA. He says that there needs to be a way to immediately takedown infringing content, which would either require staff on the weekends or to implement an automated service. Muncey adds to Rodriguez’s point that dynamic site blocking needs to be considered in the U.S. as it’s something he believes U.S. law is sorely lacking. There needs to be an efficient process in place for everyone that allows us to be dynamic and act quickly.
A consistent theme emerged: while existing frameworks are strong, laws must evolve to keep pace with technological change and global digital distribution.
Final Takeaway: IP Is the Backbone of Modern Sports
The message has become clear: copyright is central to the sports industry. Copyright enables creativity and innovation within the sports ecosystem, a safe and engaging fan experience, a sustainable business model, and the global distribution of content. Continued collaboration between policymakers, industry leaders, and creators will be essential to ensuring that IP systems remain effective in a rapidly evolving sports landscape.
We recommend you watch the full webinar recording, as this blog only summarizes the main takeaways.
In addition to watching the webinar, we encourage you to also watch the short videos below from our elected officials, who joined us in celebrating this year’s World IP Day theme, IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate!
Happy World IP Day, and we look forward to celebrating again next year.