SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Joaquín Jofre Fernández-Abascal, Jofre Sports Law
5.4 Protecting Personality/Image Rights In Spain, an athlete’s image rights are protected pri - marily as a publicity right through the Spanish Con - stitution (Article 18) and Organic Act 1/1982, allowing control over commercial exploitation. Unfair competi - tion laws, rather than common law, apply to prevent unauthorised use by competitors, enabling actions for cessation, rectification or damages. Application of Legal Doctrines in Spain While “passing off” is a common law concept not directly applied in Spain, its functional equivalent is handled through the Unfair Competition Law (Law 3/1991) and intellectual property frameworks. Protection of image rights The right to self-image enables athletes to control and monetise their image, treating it as a “publicity right” rather than just a fundamental right. Unfair competition actions Athletes can bring actions against third parties for acts of confusion, imitation, exploitation of reputation, or unfair business practices that falsely imply endorse - ment. Specific legal recourses Remedies against third-party exploitation include: • declaratory action of unfairness; • action for cessation of the unauthorised use; • action for damages (if fraud or negligence is proven); and • action for unjust enrichment. Key Aspects of Protection Distinction from merchandising As indicated by similar European jurisprudence, sim - ple merchandising may not be unfair, but using an athlete’s image to imply a false endorsement is action - able. Scope of control Athletes can control how their image is used by brands, sponsors or media, restricting unauthorised third-party commercial exploitation.
Limitations While image rights are strong, they cannot gener - ally be used to prohibit, or require remuneration for, the lawful, authorised audiovisual coverage of sports events, which are primarily managed by event organ - isers or clubs. 5.5 Licensing Sports bodies, teams and athletes in Spain exploit their intellectual property primarily through the com - mercialisation of trade marks, audiovisual rights and image rights. The Spanish legal framework is gov - erned by Law 39/2022 on sports and specific regula - tions such as Royal Decree-Law 5/2015 for audio - visual exploitation. Professional Sports Bodies and Teams Professional entities leverage their intellectual prop - erty through high-value collective licensing and brand - ing. • Audiovisual rights: in professional football, rights are managed collectively (eg, by LaLiga). Revenue is generated through the sale of broadcasting licences to domestic and international networks. • Trade marks and merchandising: clubs register names, shields and distinctive signs as trade marks with the Spanish Patent and Trade Mark Office (OEPM). • Sponsorship agreements: teams license their brand to sponsors. These contracts often include “ambush marketing” protections to ensure exclu - sivity for official partners. Professional Athletes Professional athletes in Spain exploit their publicity rights under Organic Law 1/1982. Regarding personal branding, high-profile athletes register personal trade marks for names or signature poses to monetise mer - chandise and endorse products. Non-Professional In Spain, the college sports model differs significantly from the US NIL (name, image and likeness) system. Federated versus collegiate Most Spanish non-professional athletes compete through federations rather than university-owned pro -
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