Sport, Media & Entertainment
Our sports, media and entertainment team is dedicated to assisting clients with all legal matters in these industries. We use our deep market knowledge to anticipate clients’ needs and help them achieve their aims with a bespoke service that is client-focused and delivers on our commitment to excellence.
- We offer individual solutions for team owners, individual athletes, sports organisations and broadcasting companies, at the highest level in such sports as football, horse racing, cycling, ice hockey, tennis, beach volleyball, gymnastics and motor racing, in many fields of the industry including the representation of actors of the film industry.
- The members of our dedicated team provide a full range of legal services, both contentious and non-contentious.
- We also negotiate and draft marketing, sponsorship, merchandising and broadcasting agreements.
Athletes
Our team also looks after athletes’ personal needs. We handle contract negotiations, asset planning and wealth management, the commercialisation of an athlete’s image, personal sponsoring, residence and work permits, as well as tax and data protection issues. We have vast experience in doping, employment and disciplinary cases where our team has represented various world class athletes before the Court of Arbitration for Sports.
Sport Clubs & Federations
We assist and represent various sport clubs and federations in contractual matters, service and image right agreements, transfers of players, contract negotiations and litigation. Our team has also handled one of the European biggest match fixing scandals in Football in various instances.
Sports Arbitration
Our sports law team is well versed in sports-related dispute resolution proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne (CAS) and other special judiciary bodies, such as the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber. Our sports law team has been involved in various very prominent and important cases before the CAS and is able to handle complex cases.
We also have considerable experience in appealing CAS decisions to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court and have obtained to overturn a CAS decision before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.
Our team also brings sport cases up to the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and just recently won an important case before the Court of Human Rights in the field of sports arbitration.
Media & Entertainment
As a result of many years of experience and deep understanding of the sports and media landscape, we are well versed to help our clients in all kind of legal challenges. We offer our service in relation to broadcasting, sponsorship and marketing agreements. We also offer our services in disputes in relation to the media & entertainment industry.
Publications
Advertising & Marketing 2023 Switzerland – Trends and Developments
Chambers and Partners, Global Practice Guides, Advertising & Marketing, 2023- EN
Jury-Mitglied des Private-Medienpreises für Qualitätsjournalismus
Private-Medienpreis für Qualitätsjournalismus 2021, Private - Das Geld-Magazin, Die renommierteste internationale Auszeichnung für Qualitätsjournalismus, 28. Mai 2021- DE
- Julian Kläser
Development of Norms of International Sports Law in Awards of the Court of Arbitration for Sport and Decisions of the Swiss Federal Tribunal rendered in 2016-2017
New Horizons of International Arbitration, Issue 4: Collection of Articles / Academic Editors: A.V. Asoskov, А.I. Muranov, R.M. Khodykin, April 2018- EN
Die schweizerische Fusionskontrolle im digitalisierten Medienzeitalter am Beispiel der Medienbranche: Rück- und Ausblick
Schweizerische Juristen-Zeitung SJZ 112/2016, Nr. 14, Schulthess Verlag, S. 341-351- DE
- Kevin M. Hubacher
- Franz Hoffet
Firm News
MLL Legal recognized as leading law firm in Leaders League’s Switzerland 2023 Guide
8th LESI YMC Pan-American Conference on 24 February 2023
4th LESI YMC Asia-Pacific Hybrid Conference on 25 November 2022
FIFA obsiegt gegen PUMA in Unterlassungsklage vor dem Handelsgericht Zürich
Pan-European LESI YMC Conference on 30 September 2022
News Portal
CAS Update: Spanish Adopted as Third Official Language and Other Amendments to the Code of Sports-Related Arbitration
Our sports law team is glad that, as of 1 July 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has adopted Spanish as its third official language. In addition, the ICAS – CAS› governing body – has also updated some provisions of the Code of Sports-related Arbitration with regard to notifications, communications and electronic video-conferencing.
MoreE-Book: Ambush Marketing – a Global Analysis
Sponsorship of major events, particularly sporting events, is big business worldwide. As more money is spent on the event, broadcasting rights, and infrastructure, so the cost of sponsorship rises. Inevitably this means official sponsors require protection against what is known as “ambush marketing”; the exploitation of the event by non-sponsors. So whether your brands, or clients’ brands, are official sponsors of a major event, an individual or team, or not a sponsor at all, the ‘arena’ of regulation is important. “Ambush Marketing – a Global Analysis” – this is the title of an e-book edited by Marina Palomba and Lukas Bühlmann. Contributions from a range of legal experts will cover some of the major jurisdictions and give you a comparative overview on how Ambush Marketing is dealt with. The important view of an event organizer and rights holder is provided by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
MoreAmbush Marketing in China – Guest Contribution
Ambush Marketing – the attempt to associate one’s products and services to a major and renown event without being an actual sponsor will be a phenomena which will raise increased legal awareness throughout the current year 2012 with two of the wolrd’s most prominent sport events – the UEFA EURO 2012 and the London 2012 Olympics – taking place. The present contribution by guest author Vivien Chan will therefore be the first of a few more on this topic which we will present on our website throughout the year. Vivien Chan presents the Chinese view on the topic at the example of the stories of two thrilling trademark cases currently going on before Chinese Courts. Two popular sportsmen fight for their naming rights. Vivien Chan comments the cases and gives us an insight into the Chinese legal backgrounds.
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