DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Frederik Bruhn, Rasmus Theis Madsen, Robert Jønsson and Tim Krarup Nielsen, HortenDahl Law Firm
thorised use – eg, to protect the sale of merchandise, licensing and sponsorship deals. Notable Legal Cases in Sports Trade Marks In a March 2024 case regarding trade mark enforce - ment, the European Union Intellectual Property Office ruled in favour of Superligaen A/S against the break - away European Super League’s attempt to register “The Super League” as a trade mark. The ruling found that the proposed name was too similar to “SUPER - LIGA”. Challenges in Trade Mark Protection The typical challenge regarding trade mark protection in sports is the requirement of distinctiveness. This is generally not an issue for club and federation names, as distinctiveness can also be acquired through use and recognition. 5.2 Copyright/Database Rights Copyright Protection in Sport The Danish Copyright Act protects literary and artis - tic works that meet the originality requirement. There is no registry for copyright in Denmark. Copyright protection arises automatically upon the creation of a qualifying work, and does not require any formal registration or publication. Athletic performances are generally not eligible for copyright protection, as they do not constitute “works” within the frame of the Danish copyright law. Under Section 65 (1) of the Copyright Act, perform - ing artists can receive independent protection for their performances if they involve the execution of a work. However, sports performances typically fail to meet this requirement, as they lack the necessary creative originality due to their reactive nature, as athletes’ movements are largely dictated by their opponents and game situations. The Role of Copyright in Sports Although athletic performances themselves are not protected, copyright plays a crucial role in sports, par - ticularly in the following.
• Logos and club branding: club logos and symbols may be protected as works of art if they reflect suf - ficient creative expression. • Support songs and anthems: many sports clubs have copyrighted chants, anthems and official music. • Broadcasting and TV rights: copyright significantly protects TV sports rights, particularly against illegal streaming and unauthorised reproduction. In Denmark, the Eastern High Court ruled in 2020 that streaming football matches without authorisa - tion infringed copyright, leading to a court-ordered blocking of illegal streaming services. The ruling sets a precedent for stronger copyright enforcement in sports broadcasting. Database Rights in Sport Under Section 71 of the Danish Copyright Act, data - base rights protect collections of data where a sub - stantial investment has been made in obtaining, veri - fying or presenting the content. This protection grants database creators the exclusive right to control the extraction and reuse of data. In the sports industry, clubs and organisations compile extensive databas - es containing player statistics and match analytics. If these databases meet the substantial investment threshold, unauthorised use thereof may constitute an infringement. 5.3 Recognising Personality/Image Rights Legal Recognition of Image Rights Athletes have an exclusive right to commercially exploit their image rights – ie, to use their own name, likeness, voice and other personally identifiable char - acteristics. This protection is particularly relevant for high-profile athletes whose commercial value increas - es with public recognition. In Denmark, the legal basis for the protection of image rights stems from general legal principles developed through case law and Section 3 of the Danish Market - ing Practices Act. Remedies generally include injunc - tive relief and claims for compensation. Proposed Statutory Protection Against Deepfakes In addition to the existing protection under marketing law and case law, a legislative bill was proposed at
99 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook