SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Karl Ole Möller, Nordia Law
5.3 Image Rights and Other IP Image rights are protected by Swedish law under Act 1978:800 on Names and Images in Advertis - ing (the “Names Act” ). According to the Names Act, an individual’s name or picture cannot be used for marketing purposes without the explicit permission of the individual. Violations of the Names Act may lead to fines. The person whose image rights has been exploited is entitled to reasonable com - pensation for the infringement. The infringer will also have to pay compensation for other dam - ages suffered by the individual. The public prosecutor may also initiate a crimi - nal action for violation of the Names Act if the injured party has submitted a complaint over the infringement or if a prosecution is necessary in the public interest. As mentioned in 5.1 Trade Marks , many Swed- ish professional athletes choose to protect their names as trade marks in line with the Trade - marks Act. The Names Act may be applied on most types of trade mark uses as well, ie, both Acts may be applicable in infringement cases. 5.4 Licensing NGBs, clubs and athletes may exploit their intel - lectual property rights through licence agree - ments. Swedish law does not contain any pro - visions restricting the assignment of IP rights to third parties. 5.5 Sports Data The use of data in sport is fast-growing, both in order to improve athletes’ performance and for commercial reasons (for instance, to engage with local supporters and consumers). Clubs may also use mobile app data and machine learning to personalise marketing campaigns
and analyse game data. The use of new tech - nology in the digital era can engage new fans and drive revenue from ticket sales and spon - sorships. 5.6 Data Protection The General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR” ) came into effect in 2018 and applies to all Swedish NGBs and clubs that monitor their athletes. In 2022, specific legislation was intro - duced for the handling of personal data in con - nection with the sports movement’s anti-doping work. The Act covers the ADSE’s and the NGB’s pro - cessing of personal data in connection with all their anti-doping activities. The Swedish Author - ity for Privacy Protection (the “IMY” ) is the super - vising authority. So far, NGBs and other sport stakeholders have generally been compliant with the regulations and no hefty sanctions have been imposed. Public courts are not normally involved or likely to intervene in sports disputes. A regulatory or disciplinary offence by a participant will normally be resolved within the respective NGB’s inter - nal dispute resolution mechanisms (disciplinary committee or arbitration). The individual athlete must abide contractually to the rules of their club, the relevant NGB, the Sports Confedera - tion and the rules from international governing bodies. Most NGBs have their own disciplinary commit - tee or arbitration board. In certain circumstances, the Supreme Sports Tribunal deals with appeals 6. Dispute Resolution 6.1 National Court System
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