CHILE Law and Practice Contributed by: Gonzalo Bossart and Francisco Moya, Moya & Bossart
holder. However, for greater protection, an agency has been established where works protected by this legislation can be registered and kept in a database. It is worth noting that this protection is international – extending to countries with which Chile has signed agreements on this matter – and also applies to for - eign works in Chile. Copyright offers both material and moral protection; that is, it allows the author the exclusive use and exploitation, as well as the preservation, of the work. Infringements of this right by third parties carry civil and criminal penalties. The most common cases of intellectual property (IP) infringement in Chilean sport relate to the counterfeit - ing of football shirts (design) and the retransmission of matches subject to payment or subscription through “pirate” platforms. 5.3 Recognising Personality/Image Rights While not explicitly stated, Chilean law protects image rights. Furthermore, these rights are constitutionally protected as implicit rights derived from the protec - tion of privacy and honour. This protection prohibits the capture, reproduction or publication of a person’s image – in its various forms – without their consent. In other words, individuals have both material and moral ownership of their image. Protecting Personality/Image Rights in Sports Athletes can protect their image through both consti - tutional and judicial actions, allowing them to prevent abuses by third parties and potentially obtain com - pensation. 5.4 Protecting Personality/Image Rights No response has been provided in this jurisdiction. 5.5 Licensing Exploitation of IP Rights Regardless of the stakeholder – whether an athlete, a club or a federation – in the sports world, to effec - tively exploit IP rights, it is essential to clearly define the specific right involved (trade mark, design, inven - tion or intellectual work) and ensure it receives ade - quate protection under Chilean law. It is important to remember, however, that the image rights of athletes
are automatically protected without any prior proce - dures or processes. With this protection, the rights holder can exploit their rights, typically by entering into a contract with third parties. This contract will clearly define the rights and obligations, primarily concerning the territory, time frame and compensation associated with the exploi - tation. 5.6 Assignment of IP Rights Free Trade of IP Rights IP rights are protected by property law, which in Chile allows right holders to use, enjoy and dispose of the assets in question, whether tangible or intangible (IP rights). 5.7 Data in Sport It could be said that football is the primary user of per - sonal data among Chilean sports. To combat violence in football stadiums, the ANFP created the National Fan Registry ( Registro Nacional de Hinchas – RNH), which aims to prevent those banned from entering stadiums and expedite entry. The system relies on the collection and use of biometric data (facial recogni - tion) and fan identification to control stadium access. Fan registration requires explicit consent for the use of their data for the aforementioned purposes, all within the framework of Chilean law on the processing of personal data. Sports clubs also manage personal data, including that of fans, which they use in their own marketing and advertising campaigns and in conjunction with their sponsors. They also handle sensitive personal data of their athletes, such as medical and biological records, for purely sporting purposes. A typical and quite widespread means of accomplishing the latter is through the use of athlete monitoring systems. 5.8 Data Protection The new Personal Data Protection Law, enacted at the end of 2024, incorporated high standards of protec - tion, aligning itself with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Like any other law of the Republic of Chile, the new Personal Data Protection Law applies to all persons
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