Who Decides the Rules of the Market?
(2024) JURM02 20232Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract
- With intellectual property rights and ecosystems, publishers can decide who enters the market. This leads to competition law concerns when the publisher is in some cases also vertically integrated. Vertical integration is part of a publisher’s business strategy, but at the same time it means that it competes in the same market as tournament organisers as well as in the market for publishers who grant licenses. It gives the publisher an advantageous position. In relation to competition law, the question thus arises as to how art. 102 TFEU is applied to the publisher’s choices of business strategies consisting of which tournament organisers are granted a license.
The question is asked based on the application of competition law in a... (More) - With intellectual property rights and ecosystems, publishers can decide who enters the market. This leads to competition law concerns when the publisher is in some cases also vertically integrated. Vertical integration is part of a publisher’s business strategy, but at the same time it means that it competes in the same market as tournament organisers as well as in the market for publishers who grant licenses. It gives the publisher an advantageous position. In relation to competition law, the question thus arises as to how art. 102 TFEU is applied to the publisher’s choices of business strategies consisting of which tournament organisers are granted a license.
The question is asked based on the application of competition law in a digital market and the structure of Esports as a digital ecosystem. The essay finds that Esports’ characteristic features such as vertical integration and intellectual property rights can influence competition. The focus of the paper is to consider whether a refusal to license can occur, and, consequently, that the publisher can be obliged to grant a license.
There are several factors to consider. The starting point is an analysis of the competitive effect as well as economic factors. To begin with, however, it is important to look at the relevant market. Esports is largely fragmented, and it is therefore not certain that there is any dominance. Espe-cially since a dominance in the market for publishers has not existed. In addition, the EU wants to promote a market in Esports and overregulation could counteract this if it compromises with intellectual property rights.
Based on several aspects, there are factors that show that intellectual prop-erty rights and the right to decide over one’s property weigh heavily and could not be considered proportionate to a requirement for a license.
Nevertheless, depending on business strategies and the decisions of the publisher there may still be conducts which can be challenged with competition law and specifically art. 102 TFEU. This is due to the vertical integration on the Esports market and the publisher’s exclusive rights to the video game which should be taken into consideration. (Less) - Popular Abstract (Swedish)
- Med immaterialrätter och ekosystem kan spelutgivare bestämma vilka som äntrar marknaden. Det medför konkurrensrättsliga frågeställningar när spelutgivaren i vissa fall dessutom är vertikalt integrerad. Vertikal integration är en del av en spelutgivares affärsstrategi, men samtidigt innebär det att den konkurrerar dels på samma marknad som organisatörer av turneringar, dels på marknaden för spelutgivare som beviljar licenser. Det ger spelutgivaren en fördelaktig position. I relation till konkurrensrätt uppstår därmed frågan om hur art. 102 FEUF appliceras på spelutgivarens affärsstrategiska val bestående av vilka turneringsorganisatörer som beviljas licens.
Frågan ställs med utgångspunkt i konkurrensrättens applicering på en digital... (More) - Med immaterialrätter och ekosystem kan spelutgivare bestämma vilka som äntrar marknaden. Det medför konkurrensrättsliga frågeställningar när spelutgivaren i vissa fall dessutom är vertikalt integrerad. Vertikal integration är en del av en spelutgivares affärsstrategi, men samtidigt innebär det att den konkurrerar dels på samma marknad som organisatörer av turneringar, dels på marknaden för spelutgivare som beviljar licenser. Det ger spelutgivaren en fördelaktig position. I relation till konkurrensrätt uppstår därmed frågan om hur art. 102 FEUF appliceras på spelutgivarens affärsstrategiska val bestående av vilka turneringsorganisatörer som beviljas licens.
Frågan ställs med utgångspunkt i konkurrensrättens applicering på en digital marknad samt Esportens struktur som ett digitalt ekosystem. Uppsatsen finner att Esportens karaktäristiska drag såsom vertikal integration och immaterialrätter kan påverka konkurrensen. Fokus för uppsatsen ligger på att beakta huruvida det kan uppstå en licensvägran och spelutgivaren kan krävas på beviljandet av en licens.
Det finns flera faktorer att beakta. Utgångspunkt sker i en analys av den konkurrensrättsliga effekten samt ekonomiska faktorer. Till att börja med är det dock av vikt att se till den relevanta marknaden. Esporten är till stor del fragmenterad och det är därför inte med säkerhet som det kan konstate-ras att någon dominans föreligger. Särskilt eftersom en dominans i marknaden för spelutgivare inte har funnits. Därutöver vill EU främja en marknad inom Esporten och en överreglering skulle kunna motverka det om det kompromissar med immateriella rättigheter.
Baserat på flera aspekter finns det faktorer som visar på att immateriella rättigheter och rätten att bestämma över sin egendom väger starkt och skulle inte kunna anses stå i proportion till ett krav på licens.
Det kan dock även bero på de affärsmodeller samt strategiska beslut som spelutgivaren har tagit och i vilket syfte där beteenden som kan bli ifrågasatta baserat på konkurrensrätt och specifikt art. 102 FEUF. På grund av dess vertikala integration har spelutgivaren en exklusiv rätt till datorspelet och detta bör tas i beaktning. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9148520
- author
- Stolt, Kristin LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- On the Application of Article 102 TFEU to Esports Tournaments
- course
- JURM02 20232
- year
- 2024
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- EU, Intellectual property rights, Esports, Competition law
- language
- English
- id
- 9148520
- date added to LUP
- 2024-04-15 11:25:10
- date last changed
- 2024-04-15 11:25:10
@misc{9148520,
abstract = {{With intellectual property rights and ecosystems, publishers can decide who enters the market. This leads to competition law concerns when the publisher is in some cases also vertically integrated. Vertical integration is part of a publisher’s business strategy, but at the same time it means that it competes in the same market as tournament organisers as well as in the market for publishers who grant licenses. It gives the publisher an advantageous position. In relation to competition law, the question thus arises as to how art. 102 TFEU is applied to the publisher’s choices of business strategies consisting of which tournament organisers are granted a license.
The question is asked based on the application of competition law in a digital market and the structure of Esports as a digital ecosystem. The essay finds that Esports’ characteristic features such as vertical integration and intellectual property rights can influence competition. The focus of the paper is to consider whether a refusal to license can occur, and, consequently, that the publisher can be obliged to grant a license.
There are several factors to consider. The starting point is an analysis of the competitive effect as well as economic factors. To begin with, however, it is important to look at the relevant market. Esports is largely fragmented, and it is therefore not certain that there is any dominance. Espe-cially since a dominance in the market for publishers has not existed. In addition, the EU wants to promote a market in Esports and overregulation could counteract this if it compromises with intellectual property rights.
Based on several aspects, there are factors that show that intellectual prop-erty rights and the right to decide over one’s property weigh heavily and could not be considered proportionate to a requirement for a license.
Nevertheless, depending on business strategies and the decisions of the publisher there may still be conducts which can be challenged with competition law and specifically art. 102 TFEU. This is due to the vertical integration on the Esports market and the publisher’s exclusive rights to the video game which should be taken into consideration.}},
author = {{Stolt, Kristin}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Who Decides the Rules of the Market?}},
year = {{2024}},
}