1st Edition

The Essential Guide to the Business & Law of Esports & Professional Video Gaming

By Justin Jacobson Copyright 2021
    326 Pages
    by CRC Press

    326 Pages
    by CRC Press

    "As esports has grown, the need for professional legal representation has grown with it. Justin's Essential Guide to the Business & Law of Esports & Professional Video Gaming provides a great baseline and will help prevent the legal horror stories of esports in the past."

    Mitch Reames, AdWeek and Esports Insider

    "Justin’s exploration of the business and law side of the esports sector fills a gap of knowledge that is an absolute necessity in truly understanding the esports space."

    Kevin Hitt, The Esports Observer

    The Essential Guide to the Business & Law of Esports & Professional Video Gaming covers everything you need to know about the past, present, and future of esports and professional video gaming. The book is written by one of the foremost attorneys and business practitioners in today’s esports and professional gaming scene, Justin M. Jacobson, Esq.

     

     This guide is meant to provide you with an in-depth look at the business and legal matters associated with the esports world.

     

    • Includes coverage of the stakeholders in the esports business "ecosystem," including the talent, the teams, the publishers, and the event organizers.

     

    • Explores various legal fields involved with esports, including intellectual property, employment and player unions, business investments and tax "write-offs," immigration and visas, event operation tips, social media and on-stream promotions, and much more.

     

    • The most current book on the market, with actual contract provisions modeled on existing major esports player, coach, shoutcaster, and sponsorship agreements.

     

     

     

     

      About the Author

    Justin M. Jacobson, Esq. is an entertainment and esports attorney located in New York City. For the last decade, he has worked with professional athletes, musicians, producers, DJs, record labels, fashion designers, as well as professional gamers, streamers, coaches, on-air talent, and esports organizations. He assists these creative individuals with their contract, copyright, trademark, immigration, tax, and related business, marketing, and legal issues. He is a frequent contributor to many industry publications and has been featured on a variety of entertainment, music, and esports publications and podcasts, including Business Insider, The Esports Observer, Esports Insider, Tunecore, and Sport Techie.

     

    Justin has positioned himself as a top esports business professional working with talent in a variety of franchise leagues including the Overwatch League, Overwatch Contenders, and Call of Duty Pro League as well as in many popular competitive titles such as Fortnite, CS:GO, Gears of War, Halo, Super Smash Brothers, Rainbow 6, PUBG, Madden, and FIFA and mobile games such as Brawlhalla, Clash of Clans, and Call of Duty mobile. Previously, he worked with various esports talent agencies as well as in an official capacity on behalf of several esports teams and brands.

     

    1 Introduction to Esports & Professional Video Gaming Law 1

    2 Intellectual Property Law and Its Impact on The Esports Business Ecosytem 55

    3 Business and Tax Law and Its Impact on the Esports Business Ecosytem 73

    4 Immigration and Employment Law and Its Impact on the Esports Business Ecosystem 89

    5 Contract Law and Its Impact on the Esports Business Ecosytem 103

    6 Some Other Ancillary Esports Legal and Business Topics 171

    Biography

    Justin M. Jacobson, Esq. is an entertainment and esports attorney located in New York City. For the last decade, he has worked with professional athletes, musicians, producers, DJs, record labels, fashion designers as well as professional gamers, streamers, coaches, on-air talent and esports organizations.  He assists all of these creative individuals with their contract, copyright, trademark, immigration, tax and other related business, marketing and legal