2023-08-02 19:35:43
The popularization of e-sport quickly brought to light the certain need for a legal framework, with the aim of structuring relations between players in the field and professionals. The diversity of actors and legal issues is at the heart of the thorny establishment of a legal framework around the discipline of e-sport. Indeed, between contract law, labor law, intellectual property law, the implementation of the legislative framework might not be achieved other than thanks to the intervention of the legislator.
Contractual supervision: towards a professionalization of cyberathletes
E-sport embodies a new phenomenon, which involves new actors and work rhythms outside general standards. Nevertheless, the inadequate contractual framework of players and professionals in the field reveals serious shortcomings in terms of knowledge of the needs and recognition of the rights inherent in the exercise of the profession, which has the effect of highlighting legal uncertainty in matter.
A first step was taken when setting up service contracts, which allowed commercial companies, among others, to sign contracts with e-sport players, who then become self-employed. The advantage of service contracts lies in the establishment in writing of the obligations of the players but also those of the co-signer, the determination of the salary, the terms of execution, etc. Nevertheless, the service provision contract can quickly be reclassified as an employment contract if, among other things, a relationship of subordination and an economic relationship which would lead to economic dependence between the parties were revealed.
This risk of requalification into a fixed-term contract or an open-ended contract also reveals the particularity of professional e-sport players. Indeed, if the requalification of the contract is possible, it nevertheless remains particularly difficult to set up because of the difficult anticipation of the profession (playing times may vary, the frequency of play, under which sponsors, etc.).
The e-sports fixed-term contract: a saving measure for e-sports players?
In the absence of being able to attach the discipline of e-sport to the legal regime of sport, the legislator set up, in 2016, a project to develop a legal regime adapted to the specificities of e-sport. The e-sport CDD in particular fills the legal gaps related to the protection of the e-sport player as well as the control and supervision of the competitions organized. It thus confers a special status on e-sports players, similar to the status of traditional professional sports players. This status makes it possible to supervise the career, the function of the activities and the exercises carried out, which allows the player, in fineto benefit from guarantees.
The e-sport fixed-term contract thus becomes the professional path to take and makes it possible to rule out the use of user contracts. It thus makes it possible to lay down a framework, obligations and compliance with substantive and formal conditions, in particular the obligation to write down, in triplicate, the identity of the parties, the dates of hiring of the player, the duration commitment, remuneration, etc.
Similarly, concerning the competitions, they are under the obligation to be the subject of a prior declaration, which implies important details to be anticipated on the competition (place, participants, managers, organizers, sponsors, etc.), as well as on winnings associated with the competition, such as cash prizes.
This new legal framework was initially favorably received in the field of e-sport, particularly in terms of what it can bring in terms of legal certainty. Nevertheless, this beginning of recognition of the professionalization of e-sport implies strict procedures to be applied, which does not seem beneficial in the eyes of e-sports structures. These contributions are difficult to apply in an unstructured and irregular environment, due to the long-term nature of the obligations to be put in place. The esports ecosystem is particularly unpredictable, which makes it difficult to put rules in place and write clear contracts.
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