Sports, media & entertainment

Our cross-practice international team advises a range of sports, media and entertainment clients in the Middle East and globally on issues that are critical to the sector, including intellectual property rights exploitation and enforcement, ethics and corruption, sponsorship, real estate, dispute resolution and regulatory issues.

We also support our wider client base in relation to legal issues that are particularly relevant to this area, such as advertising law, broadcasting regulations, branding, content distribution and intellectual property protection.

We can

• advise on branding, licensing, sponsorship and endorsement agreements in relation to events, athletes or celebrities;
• guide you on the protection, exploitation and enforcement of intellectual property rights;
• advise on mergers and acquisitions of IP-rich companies in the sports, media and entertainment sectors;
• support major construction projects and the development and financing of sports stadia, entertainment arenas and leisure facilities;
• advise on facilities management and stadium operating contracts, concession agreements and other arrangements in relation to sports and entertainment facilities.

Clients and experience

Our clients are market leaders in their own fields: owners and distributors of media rights, sports clubs and teams, content and service providers, financiers, sponsors and investors.

In the Middle East, we have:

• advised on stadium management and operator agreements in respect of the FIFA World Club Championships in Abu Dhabi;
• advised a US satellite television new channel on the establishment of a regional broadcasting hub in Bahrain;
• advised on the contractual arrangements to bring the London Wasps v Harlequins rugby union fixture to Abu Dhabi in January 2011;
• advised a regional private equity company on the disposal of its stake in one of the leading Arabic internet portals;
• advised a major Middle East real estate developer on construction, financing and intellectual property aspects of its arrangements with a US entertainment company in relation to the proposed development of various theme parks in Dubai.