Sports Law 2024 Comparisons

Subject to the below exceptions, an athlete using a prohibited substance would not constitute a criminal offence under PRC law but would only trigger administrative sanctions from the authorities in China. However, the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China (last amended in 2023; “Criminal Law”), criminalises doping-related actions such as inducing, abetting, or deceiving an athlete to use prohibited substances during important domestic or international competitions. The punishments applicable to such a crime include imprisonment of up to three years, criminal detention and a fine. Moreover, offenders who organise or force any athlete participating in a significant domestic or international sports competition to use stimulants shall be subject to a heavier punishment than what is provided above for an ordinary offence.

The 2022 amendment to the Sports Law of the People’s Republic of China (“Sports Law”) came into effect on the first day of 2023 and expressly prohibited the use of prohibited substances during sports events. Any athlete violating such regulation will be subject to disqualification from the sports event, annulment of any record or even a suspension from participating in other sports events. The individuals or entities providing prohibited substances to athletes may be subject to fines or suspension from participating in sports management work or athlete assistance work.

The Prohibited Substance Catalogue, which is substantially similar to the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) Prohibited Substance List, is jointly promulgated and renewed on a yearly basis by the General Administration of Sports of China (GASC), the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China (NHC), the General Administration of Customs (GAC), and the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). Some substances in the Prohibited Substance Catalogue, such as cocaine, marijuana, morphine and other traditional illegal drugs, are strictly prohibited by other laws, and the possession, production, transportation and sale of such substances may constitute criminal offenses.

The GASC promulgated the Administrative Measures on Anti-doping (“Anti-doping Measures”) in July 2021 in accordance with the Sports Law, the Anti-doping Regulations and other laws and regulations. On 31 May 2023, the GASC issued the Draft Amendment of the Anti-doping Regulations, seeking public opinions on new amendments to the current Anti-doping Regulations. The draft envisions expanding the scope of the Anti-doping Regulations from six Chapters and 47 Articles to eight Chapters and 71 Articles. In addition, to ensure the lawful and efficient implementation of doping inspections, the GASC promulgated the Regulations on the Management of Doping Inspection Personnel in February 2023, strengthening the regulation of doping inspection personnel teams.

Further, as China is a member of the International Convention Against Doping in Sport and the World Anti-Doping Code, the GASC also translates the WADA Prohibited Substance List into Chinese for domestic implementation.

CADA

The China Anti-doping Agency (CADA), an internal organ of the GASC, is the national anti-doping organisation in China. Its main purposes are to participate in the formulation of anti-doping catalogues, organise and implement doping inspections and testing, organise and implement investigations and hearings on doping violations, and construct and manage doping test labs. CADA promulgates an annual report on its anti-doping work and doping violations on its official website. According to CADA’s 2021 annual report, it prosecuted 31 doping violations in 2021. One month before the opening of the Asian Games Village in 2023, Chinese athletes underwent three rounds of doping tests, totalling 4,730 tests performed. Throughout the preparation period for the Hangzhou Asian Games, China implemented the largest pre-competition doping screening in the history of the Asian Games, with a total of 15,181 tests performed.

According to the Sports Law, athletes, coaches, and referees are prohibited from fraud, match-fixing, and malpractice. According to the Measures for the Administration of Sports Events and Activities, published on 1 January 2023 (“ Sports Events and Activities Measures”), match-fixing and gambling on sports events will constitute administrative violations or even criminal offences. Although there is not a specific crime of match-fixing, there are various applicable provisions in the Criminal Law against match-fixing, gambling on sports events, misconduct, bribery or fraud, such as anti-corruption, anti-bribery, and anti-gambling provisions. In 2021, the GASC, together with the Ministry of Public Safety (MPS) promulgated a circular related to match-fixing and gambling, under which the GASC and MPS emphasised the importance of fighting against match-fixing and gambling on sports events. The GASC and MPS will enforce more serious sanctions against match-fixing and gambling on sports events, which may also constitute criminal offences if the offender is a public servant. For example, in 2012, a number of GASC officials in charge of football, along with a number of football referees, were sentenced to five to ten years of imprisonment for accepting bribes to fix the outcomes of football matches. More recently, in November 2022, Li Tie, the former head coach of the Chinese National Men’s Football Team was detained by the local Supervision Commission of China for corruption and bribery issues. In December 2022, 16 governors were disciplined and six other persons were prohibited from participating in football events organised by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) for engaging in match-fixing in a provincial sport event.

Betting is prohibited under PRC laws regardless of whether it is related to sports or anything else. According to the Sports Law, anyone who uses sports events to engage in gambling activities shall be investigated and sanctioned by law enforcement authorities. However, there are several kinds of lotteries related to sports events in China. According to the Regulations on Administration of Lotteries, such lotteries are strictly regulated and supervised under PRC laws. For example, only central-government-permitted entities may issue such lotteries, which must be supervised by the GASC. As stated in 1.2 Integrity, running gambling houses is a serious criminal offence under PRC laws. At the same time, betting is also an administrative violation. Such offences and violations are often subject to the jurisdiction of law enforcement authorities, instead of sports governing bodies.

The disciplinary proceedings set forth in the Anti-doping Regulations, the Anti-doping Measures and other applicable laws and regulations are consistent with the World Anti-Doping Code and the relevant international standards – eg, the International Standard for Testing and Investigations and the International Standard for Code Compliance by Signatories.

Take doping as an example: it will be considered as a doping violation if the anti-doping test of an athlete is positive, an athlete refuses or dodges a test, or an athlete possesses prohibited substances.

The competent authority will take two samples from an athlete. If sample A is positive, the competent authority will require the athlete to give an explanation. At the same time, the competent authority will test sample B.

If the test of sample B is also positive, the competent authority will file an indictment with the hearing committee and the committee may enforce sanctions against the athlete.

A dispute involving international games or international-level athletes may only be submitted to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for arbitration. Other disputes may be submitted to a national dispute resolution agency under the CADA.

A disciplined athlete is only entitled to an appeal if the matter is of an international nature, but the hearing can be held by the CAS or the CADA. Any sanctions will not be suspended during the appeal process.

Taking the integrity offence of the coach of the Chinese Men’ Football Team as an example (see 1.2 Integrity), he was detained for corruption and bribery, and in addition to the CFA disciplinary measures, he will also be subject to the criminal litigation proceedings, which include investigation, prosecution and a court hearing.

Apart from sponsorship (see 2.2 Sponsorship) and broadcasting (see 2.3 Broadcasting) rights, there are various commercial rights related to sports – eg, merchandising and ticketing.

Merchandising usually includes the sale of goods related to the name, marks, logos, images and other intangible property of a club or an athlete. Usually, the club or the athlete will enter into an agreement with the manufacturer or the retailer, where the club or the athlete will grant the manufacture or the retailer a licence to design, produce or sell products embodying the name, marks, logos, images or other intellectual property rights or intangible property rights. The agreement could be on a contingent basis – ie, the club or the athlete is entitled to a share of revenue gained by the manufacturer or the retailer. But, instead, the manufacturer or the retailer will usually pay a non-refundable but recoupable advance plus a royalty to the club or the athlete.

Ticketing is another source of revenue for a club. Usually, a club will not own a stadium but rent one for a sports event. There is usually text on the ticket stating that spectators shall not disseminate footage of the event. Clubs, organisers, and law enforcement authorities are also making every effort to fight against the resale of tickets. It is an administrative violation to “scalp” sports tickets under the Law on Penalties for the Violation of Public Security Administration of the People’s Republic of China and a person committing such violation may face a fine of up to CNY1,000 or even administrative detention for up to 15 days.

Sponsorship is one of the most important funding sources for sports events. Sponsors have great regard for the exposure opportunities provided by sports events. Generally, sponsors are classified into different categories with different rights, for example, sponsors of the league, the event, the clubs or the athletes. They promote their brand by a variety of means, for example, displaying their names, brands, or trade marks on billboards around the court, on the floor, or on athletes’ jerseys, titling clubs, or displaying their commercials during halftime breaks or timeouts. However, the CFA promulgated a rule in 2020 stating that the name of a football club competing in the CFA Super League, Division A League, and Division B League must not contain the name of a sponsor starting from the 2021 season.

Usually sports right-holders will grant sponsors a bundle of rights in consideration of their provision of sponsorship, including:

• using the names, logos or trade marks of the sports right-holders in sponsors’ products and services;
• stating the sponsorship relationship between the sponsor and sports right-holders;
• displaying images of athletes in sponsors’ products, services or commercials; and/or
• displaying brands in the stadium, around the court, or on athletes’ gear.

The key terms of a typical standard contract include:

• the class of the sponsor – ie, titling sponsor, official sponsor, strategic partner, etc;
• the sponsor fees and payment methods;
• the term and territory of the sponsorship;
• the scope and degree of any exclusivity;
• benefits for sponsors, including brand exposure, rights for certain events, use of sport right-holders’ property;
• non-compete clauses – eg, the sports right-holder shall not attract other sponsors providing products or services similar to those the sponsor provides; and
• the allocation of intellectual property rights.

The broadcasters in China for sports events include cable TV and webcasters. Cable TV usually generates profit from broadcasting rights through advertising and webcasters. Since all China TV stations are state-owned entities, they do not collect subscription fees directly from a public audience. The audience usually pays a very low rate for carriers to use their internet service and the cable TV service is usually bundled with that internet service. In this case, audiences do not usually pay separately for cable TV. Cable TV broadcasters in China exploit their broadcasting rights though advertising during quarter breaks, halftime breaks or timeouts. With respect to webcasters, they usually generate profits from both advertising and subscriptions. For instance, a person has to pay subscription fees to watch China Basketball Association (CBA) games on Tencent Sport, one of the largest sport webcasters in China. In addition, there will be quarter and half-time commercials.

With the rocketing development of the sports market in China, sports right-holders usually do not have to put in much effort to attract broadcasters. Instead, broadcasters or licence resellers will pitch sports right-holders for exclusive broadcasting licences; and the price of such exclusive licences has increased sharply during recent years. For example, in 2015, China Sports Media paid the CFA CNY8 billion for a five-year CFA Super League exclusive broadcasting licence, which was later raised to CNY11 billion for a ten-year exclusive broadcasting licence. By comparison, the five-year bundle for 2007 to 2012 only cost CNY50 million.

SPC Decision on Broadcasting Rights Disputes

On 21 June 2023, the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China (SPC) issued for the first time certain “Model Cases of Sports-related Disputes”, which included a case concerning an interim injunction involving unfair competition disputes over sports broadcasting rights between a media company and a technology company. In this particular case, the media company was authorised to provide online on-demand broadcasting of the Winter Olympics on its self-operated video platform and app. During the Winter Olympics, the technology company conducted special live broadcasts, reviews, on-demand services, and short video play-backs of the Winter Olympics events on its self-operated platform, using this as a major promotional point to attract users. The media company filed a lawsuit against the technology company, alleging unfair competition. The court ultimately ruled that the media company had invested substantial amounts to obtain the broadcasting licence and was a legitimate rights-holder, while the technology company did not have legitimate authorisation. Furthermore, the court held that these actions caused actual damage to the media company’s interests and disrupted market competition order. Due to the timeliness of sports events, the court issued an interim injunction against the technology company, demanding an immediate cessation of providing Winter Olympics-related content. Later, the two parties reached a settlement through mediation.

Usually, sports events are organised by sports associations and the participants – ie, athletes and clubs will participate in the sports events through registration. Without registration with the relevant association, no athletes or clubs are allowed to participate in the sports events organised by such association. There are various proprietary rights for sports organisers in China, such as the right to exclusively organise sports events, intellectual property rights and the right to control access to the venue.

According to the Sports Law, the Sports Events and Activities Measures, and other relevant laws and regulations, national comprehensive sports events, such as the National Sports Games, shall only be organised by the GASC and its authorised organisations and national individual sports events shall only be organised by the national association for such individual sports, for example, the National Football CFA Super League shall only be organised by the CFA. Due to such exclusivity, the organisers control all rights and interests arising from the sports events.

According to the Sports Events and Activities Measures, the names, marks, organising rights, broadcasting rights and other intangible property rights may be exploited by sports events organisers. Due to the aforementioned exclusivity, the original owners of those rights are always sports events organisers. For example, according to the CFA Statutes, the CFA is the original owner of all of the rights emanating from competitions and other events coming under its jurisdiction, including but not limited to intellectual property exploitation rights, merchandising rights and other rights generated from the sports events organised by the CFA.

According to the Sports Law, without the permission of sports event organisers and other relevant rights-holders, it is not permissible to collect or disseminate live pictures, audio and video and other information about sports events for profit-making purposes. Furthermore, access to the venues is controlled based on property rights. The venues are usually leased by the organisers and the organisers may set rules for entering the venue and spectators’ conduct. Usually the spectators are informed that they are not allowed to film events or act in other ways which may infringe rights of the organisers.

As stated above, nationwide sports events are organised by the GASC or national sports associations. The participants are also members of respective associations. Those members may be governed by the statutes of their respective associations; if there is any violation, the associations may impose sanctions on their members.

According to the Sports Law, organisers shall perform their safety guarantee obligations, provide safety conditions that meet applicable requirements and formulate safeguarding measures such as risk prevention and emergency response plans. According to the Sports Events and Activities Measures, organisers shall assign competent professionals; implement measures related to medication, hygiene, safety and other aspects; and carry out other protective plans for sports events. Furthermore, organisers shall suspend sports events in the event of natural disasters, accidents, and public health or public safety events. In addition, if an organiser plans to organise a “high-risk” sports event, it has to apply for permits and bear a heavier duty of care. On 1 January 2023, the GASC and six other government agencies promulgated the Catalogue of High-Risk Sports Events (First Batch), which sets out 17 high-risk sports events in the areas of scuba-diving, aviation, mountain climbing, rock climbing, ski mountaineering and motor vehicle racing. Any violation of the applicable duty of care may be subject to fines and even suspension of qualification for organising sports events. On 22 September 2023, in order to implement the newly revised Sports Law, and to strengthen the management of high-risk sports events and promote the development of the sports industry, the GASC issued a revised version of the Administrative Measures for the Operation License for High-Risk Sport Events, which further specified administrative rules for businesses operating high-risk sport events.

Under PRC law, organisers bear a duty of care relating to organising sports events. Such duty of care originally arose from the duty of care under the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China (“Civil Code”). Under the Civil Code, operators and managers of stadiums will bear tort liability if they fail to fulfil their duty of care. Apart from civil liability, organisers may also be subject to criminal liability if serious consequences occur due to their failure to fulfil the duty of care. For example, in a cross-country race held in Gansu Province in 2021, 21 deaths and eight injuries were caused by extreme weather, and five organising staff members were arrested for their breach of the duty of care when organising the race and failing to take precautions regarding possible weather changes.

According to the Civil Code, under the principle of “assumption of risks”, if a person suffers injuries when participating in sports events, and if those sports events contain inherent risks and such damages cannot be attributed to other participants’ intentional conduct or gross negligence, then the injured person may not seek remedies against other participants. In a case in Beijing applying the “assumption of risks” principle, a person was hit by a badminton shuttlecock smashed by the other player, resulting in serious injury to his right eye. But the other player was not held liable because there are inherent risks in badminton and the other player did not intentionally or with gross negligence violate any rules of the game.

To avoid violence or disorder, the organisers usually hire professional security guards, and everyone entering the stadium has to go through a security inspection. Some stadiums even have screens in front of the audience seats to prevent the spectators from rushing or throwing anything onto the game grounds.

Most professional clubs in China are limited liability companies (LLCs) or corporations. According to the Administrative Regulations on the Registration of Social Organisations (“Social Organisation Regulations”), social organisations or non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are allowed to be involved in profit-making business. Professional clubs have to attract investment and sponsorship, sell tickets, and carry out other profit-making business. In such cases, professional clubs have to be commercial entities. But non-professional clubs have various forms: some are LLCs or corporations, while others are NGOs. The governing bodies in China are usually governmental agencies or governmental organisations (GOs).

China does not have sport-specific corporate laws. The operation of sports clubs is governed by the laws regulating the type of entity that a given sports club is formed as, for example, the Company Law of People’s Republic of China (“Company Law”) and the Social Organisation Regulations. If a club violates relevant laws and regulations, sanctions or penalties will be imposed by the competent authorities, which are the State Administration of Market Regulation (SMAR) for LLCs and corporations and the Ministry of Civil Affairs for social organisations and NGOs.

However, some sports associations do have certain regulations applicable to the corporate governance of sports clubs and other relevant entities. For example, as stated in 2.2 Sponsorship, the name of a professional team in Division A or B of the CFA Super League shall not contain any sponsor’s name. In addition, according to the CFA Statutes, a natural person or a legal entity shall not control more than one club or football organisation. If a club violates any of the aforementioned regulations, the CFA may suspend or deregister the club’s membership. Under such circumstance, the club may not participate in any of the events organised by the CFA, which means all nationwide football games, because (as stated in 3.1 Relationships) all nationwide games for a certain sport can only be organised by the national association for such sport.

Since sports associations are not LLCs or corporations, there are no directors of sports associations in China. Sports associations have only a president and committee members who are responsible for the daily operations. As to professional clubs, the officers do owe the directors’ duties stipulated in the Company Law.

According to the Company Law, the director or manager of an insolvent company is not allowed to be a director, supervisor or senior officer of another company within three years after the liquidation date of that insolvent company.

As mentioned in 2.2 Sponsorship, sponsorship is the main funding stream for sports events. Government agencies will take the lead in organising sports events and provide some preferential policies, such as a specific lane for Olympic vehicles. The central government will fund a nationwide comprehensive sports event at the kick-off stage, but the main sources of funds are still sponsorship, advertising and commercial operations.

According to unofficial statistics, there were a total of 31 investment and financing events in China’s domestic sports-related companies from January 1 to December 20 2023, with a total value of approximately CNY2.4 billion. In the same period during the previous year, there were 54 financing events for Chinese sports start-ups, reflecting a total value of nearly CNY1.4 billion. The number of investment and financing events in 2023 decreased by 42.59% compared to 2022, while the total investment and financing amount increased by 72.10%. The top five areas that investors are most interested in are esports, outdoor sports, sports technology, fitness, and sports venues.

According to the Trademark Law of the People of Republic of China (“Trademark Law”) any natural person, legal entity or other organisation may submit an application with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) to register a trade mark and CNIPA will issue a trade mark certificate upon approval. According to the Trademark Law, the following marks shall not be used as trade marks:

• those identical with or similar to the name, national flag, national emblem, national anthem, military flag, army emblem, military songs, medals, etc, of the People’s Republic of China;
• those identical with the names and signs of central state organs, names of the specific locations thereof, or names or devices of landmark buildings;
• those identical with or similar to the names, national flags, national emblems or military flags of foreign countries, unless permitted by the government of the country;
• those identical with or similar to the names, flags, or emblems of international inter-governmental organisations, unless permitted by the organisation concerned or unlikely to mislead the public;
• those identical with or similar to an official sign or inspection seal that indicates control and guarantee, unless it is authorised;
• those identical with or similar to the names or signs of the Red Cross or the Red Crescent;
• those discriminating against any race;
• those of fraud that may easily mislead the public in characteristics such as the quality of goods or place of production;
• those detrimental to socialist morals or customs, or having other insalubrious effects;
• the geographical names of administrative divisions at or above the county level;
• foreign geographical names well-known to the public;
• generic names, devices or model numbers of the goods;
• those simply indicating the quality, main raw materials, function, use, weight, quantity or other features of the goods; and
• those lacking distinctive characteristics.

A mark will get comprehensive protection after registration with the CNIPA. No other person is allowed to use the trade mark without written consent of the trade mark owner. If a mark is not registered, the protection for such mark will be limited to the geographical area where the owner’s business is located and the scope of the owner’s business. A notable example is a Chinese company winning a case against MUJI Japan for trade mark infringement because the Chinese company registered the trade mark “MUJI” before MUJI Japan came into China.

Similar to the counterparts of other signatories of the Berne Convention, the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China (“Copyright Law”) protects audio-visual works, paintings, photographs and compiled works, etc. Registration is not required under the Copyright Law – ie, a copyrightable work is copyrighted immediately upon its completion. However, registration is still encouraged as evidence of copyright ownership. A notable principal under the Copyright Law is that a sports event itself is not copyrightable. Audio-visual works and photographs derived from the sports event (eg, the broadcasting images) are copyrightable and will be protected by the Copyright Law.

The most common defence under the Copyright Law is fair use. Usually a person will not commit copyright infringement if such person uses a work without the consent of the copyright owner provided that such use is for personal study, research or appreciation.

Another scenario where fair use can be applied is where a person will not commit copyright infringement if such person invokes parts of the other’s work for the purpose of introduction or comment.

There is no standalone database right under the Copyright Law. Databases are usually protected as compiled works. If the selection, editing or compilation of data reflects the originality and creativity of the compiler, such database is copyrightable. For example, a compilation of the telephone numbers of all restaurants in Shanghai is not copyrightable but a compilation of hot sports news in China in the year 2021 may be copyrightable.

Notable Sports Copyrights Cases

The Sina.com v iFeng.com case and CCTC v Baofeng.com were both tried in first-instance and second-instance proceedings, and were only concluded by retrial in 2020. The facts in the two cases were quite similar: ifeng.com re-broadcast CFA Super League games to which Sina.com enjoyed exclusive live broadcasting rights, and Baofeng.com rebroadcast 2014 FIFA World Cup games to which CCTC had exclusive broadcasting rights. These two cases set the standard rule for copyright protection for live broadcasting of sports games. Before these two cases, live broadcasting of images/video clips taken from the live broadcasting of a sports event were often treated as video recordings, which enjoy limited protection under the Copyright Law – ie, prohibited from unauthorised duplication, distribution, leasing and making available to the public. Video recordings do not enjoy broadcasting rights, which means if the live broadcasting image is not treated as a work but rather as a video recording, such broadcasting, which is the most important right for broadcasters, is not protected under the Copyright Law. In these two cases, the retrial court eventually ruled that the live broadcasting of images and video clips constitutes copyrighted “work” under the Copyright Law, which deserve more comprehensive protection under the Copyright Law. Thus, unauthorised use of the images/video clips taken from the live broadcasting of the games constitutes copyright infringement. The aforementioned cases both set a benchmark for other similar cases, after which broadcasters, both TV stations and webcasters, have received more comprehensive protection for their broadcasting.

Further to the above benchmark cases, in December 2022, a district court in Shanghai granted, in the CCTV.com v rphello.org case, an injunction against rphello.org from re-broadcasting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In this case, CCTV.com had the exclusive right to provide online broadcasting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Rphello.org re-broadcast the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and CCTV.com applied for injunctive relief against rphello.org with a district court, and the court granted the injunction within 24 hours.

Another recent notable case is the anti-trust proceeding against CFA Super League Co. As mentioned in 3.1 Relationships, the CFA is the only permitted organiser of the CFA Super League, and the CFA licensed the CFA Super League Co. to exploit all its rights in the CFA Super League. The CFA Super League Co. attracted a company through a  public bidding process and granted it exclusive permission to provide photography services for CFA Super League games from 2017 to 2019. Another candidate in the bidding process filed suit against CFA Super League Co. and the photography company for abuse of a dominant market position. In July 2022, the SPC finally ruled that (i) the exclusive right to organise the CFA Super League events and (ii) the exclusive right authorised by the CFA to exploit all rights arising from the CFA Super League together with the exclusive right to provide photography services by the photography company put the CFA Super League Co. and the photography company in a dominant market position. However, the exclusive licence was lawful and reasonable and was granted through due process – ie, public bidding. In this case, the conduct of the CFA Super League Co. and the photography company did not constitute abuse of a dominant market position.

According to the Civil Code, every natural person’s image is protected, of course including the image of athletes. Any unlawful use of a person’s image will constitute a tort under the Civil Code and such person is entitled to reimbursement for losses arising from such unlawful use.

Sports bodies may license their IP in sports events. As stated in 3.1 Relationships, almost all valuable nationwide sports events, such as the CFA Super League and CBA League, are organised by their respective national association. All IP derived from the sports events are also proprietarily reserved by those national associations. For example, it is stated in the CBA Statutes that all rights arising from the sports events organised by the CBA – including IP, exploitation rights and other rights – are the property of the CBA. There are similar provisions in the CFA Statutes. In that case, the athletes themselves usually do not have any copyright over the sports events or broadcasting streams.

There are few restrictions on assignment of IP in China. For copyright licensing or transfer, a written agreement is required. Such an agreement generally contains certain provisions related to the type of right, exclusivity, territory, term, fees, payment, and liability for breach. The transfer of trade marks needs to be approved by the CNIPA because the CNIPA will issue a new trade mark certificate to the new trade mark owner. Likewise, a written agreement is required for trade mark licensing and transfer.

A range of hi-tech devices are commonly used in sports events and daily training to collect sports data of athletes. This data is normally used to improve the athlete’s performance. Any abuse of such data may violate the laws and regulations of China or constitute criminal offences under serious circumstances.

Spectator data, on the other hand, is usually collected for “big data” analysis purposes – eg, to study the age groups, commodity preferences, etc, of the spectators of sports games. The sports events organisers usually use the data to make more precise pitches to sponsors, and sponsors may also use the data to place advertisements more precisely.

China has a comprehensive set of data protection laws, which in part reflect the principles of the GDPR. For example, both the Personal Information Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China (“PI Protection Law”) and the Data Security Law of the People’s Republic of China (“Data Security Law”) were enacted in 2021. Under the PI Protection Law, personal information (PI) is “any kind of information related to an identified or identifiable natural person as electronically or otherwise recorded, excluding information that has been anonymised.” There is also a category called “sensitive personal information”, which includes biometric data, religious belief, specific identity, medical and health issues, financial accounts, personal location tracking and other information.

Under the aforementioned laws, an individual’s PI is strictly protected, and the processing and export of PI is also strictly regulated. The protection measures for sensitive PI are stricter. For example, one may obtain general consent from individuals to process their PI but needs to obtain so-called “specific consent” from individuals to process their sensitive PI. Abuse of PI will be subject to administrative liability or criminal liability. An entity abusing PI may face a fine of up to CNY50 million according to the PI Protection Law. An entity may face a fine of up to CNY10 million for violating the Data Security Law. An individual abusing PI may face up to seven years’ imprisonment pursuant to the Criminal Law.

For the further protection of personal information, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and 12 other government agencies jointly issued the Measures for Cybersecurity Review in December 2021, the CAC issued the Measures for the Security Assessment of Data Exports, which came into effect in September 2022, which was followed by the Guide to Applications for Security Assessment of Outbound Data Transfers (First Edition), and the Opinions of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council on Building Basic Systems for Data and Putting Data Elements of Production to Better Use, which came into effect in December 2022.

The courts in China have limited jurisdiction over disputes related to sports. According to the Sports Law, a court may only revoke a sports arbitral award upon application under the following circumstances:

• there are errors in applicable laws and regulations;
• the matters ruled on do not fall within the scope of sports arbitration;
• the composition of the arbitral tribunal or the arbitration procedure violates the relevant provisions sufficiently to affect the impartiality of the award;
• the evidence on which the award is based is forged;
• the other party has concealed evidence sufficient to affect the fairness of the ruling; and
• the arbitrator has solicited or accepted bribes, engaged in any malpractice for personal gains or perverted the law when arbitrating the case.

The Sports Law provides, for the first time in China, relatively clear sports arbitration rules. The following disputes may be submitted for sports arbitration:

• disputes arising from dissatisfaction with a disqualification, a cancellation of competition results, the forbidding of participation in competitions and other decisions made by sports social organisations, athlete management units, and sports event organisers in accordance with doping management or other management provisions;
• disputes arising from the registration of and communication with athletes; and
• other disputes arising in competitive sports activities.

The Sports Law also provides that disputes stipulated in the Arbitration Law of the People’s Republic of China and labour disputes stipulated in the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Mediation and Arbitration of Labour Disputes are not under the jurisdiction of sports arbitration.

CCAS

Accompanying the sports arbitration rules delineated in the Sports Law, the GASC has promulgated the Organisational Rules of the China Commission of Arbitration for Sport, the Sports Arbitration Rules and the Sports Arbitration Handling Guidelines to formulate the by-laws of the China Commission of Arbitration for Sport (CCAS), the first national sports arbitration committee in China, and its arbitration rules, including but not limited to the jurisdiction, seats, hearing procedure and awards. On 11 February 2023, the CCAS was officially established in Beijing. On 28 November 2023, CCAS finished adjudicating its first three sports arbitration cases. The subject matter of these cases involved a sports event qualification dispute, a dispute involving the termination of a youth training contract, and a dispute around a technical issue during a sport match. On 15 December 2023, CCAS activated its online filing channel for sports arbitration cases to speed up its case handling procedure.

Sports Association Arbitration

Associations usually have their own arbitration institution and all the above disputes under the jurisdiction of an association are encouraged by the Sports Law to be submitted to the relevant arbitration institution. If a sports association has no internal dispute resolution mechanism or has an internal dispute resolution mechanism that fails to handle disputes in a timely manner, the parties may apply for sports arbitration. Further, some associations have adjusted their internal arbitration policies in response to the creation of the CCAS, and will now allow CCAS to review disputes within their association.

The Sports Law empowers sports governing bodies to enforce sanctions against their members. In addition, the governing bodies usually declare their power to enforce sanctions against their members and athletes. Typically, sports governing bodies impose fines, point deductions, revocations of results, bans, and revocations of membership.

If a sanction is enforced by a governmental agency such as the GASC or its local agencies, the sanctioned party may appeal to the court for trial. But if the sanction is enforced by an association, the sanctioned party may submit the dispute to CCAS.

Sports clubs and athletes usually enter into a contract, which is not simply an employment contract. According to the Opinions on Strengthening and Improving Labour Protection Management of Professional Football Clubs, clubs may agree on terms according to the unique characteristic of the football industry. For example, according to the Labour Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China (“Labour Contract Law”), an employee may resign without any cause with 30 days’ notice, which is not practical in the sports industry. For example, it is customary for a sports club to require an athlete to pay liquidated damage for early termination.

Salary caps are applied to certain sports games in China. For example, the seasonal salary cap for a CFA Supreme League domestic player is CNY5 million (tax inclusive), and EUR3 million (tax inclusive) for expatriate players. Likewise, for CBA League domestic players, the salary cap is CNY6 million.

As stated in 7.1 Sports-Related Contracts of Employment , the relationship between players and sports clubs is complicated. Some courts have ruled that the rights of players are protected under the Labour Contract Law, as stated in 6.1 National Court System, but others have ruled that employment disputes between clubs and athletes do not fall under the Labour Contact Law and should be heard not by a court but rather by CCAS. According to the Sports Arbitration Rules promulgated by the GASC, disputes subject to arbitration as stipulated by the Arbitration Law of China and the Labour Disputes Mediation and Arbitration Law of China do not fall within the scope of sports arbitration.

Foreign athletes are free to compete in sports tournaments/competitions. However, some associations may limit the total number of foreign athletes a club may deploy in a single game. Foreign athletes have to apply for a visa to participate in sports events in China. If the athlete is a top-eight Olympic Games or World Cup player, a medal winner at the Asian Games, or hired by a top tier club, such as a club in the CFA Super League or CBA League, an R-Visa may be applied for. Other athletes hired by clubs may apply for Z Visas (work visa). If the athlete is invited to attend a competition in China, the athlete can apply for an F Visa (visit visa).

Esports was first listed in the sports industry catalogue by the GASC in 2019 and became part of formal competition at the Asian Games 2022. The esports industry has been developing rapidly in recently years. According to market research, the value of China’s esports market reached CNY167.3 billion in 2021, an increase of 13.5% compared with 2020. The total number of users reached more than 500 million in 2021. However, due to the impact of multiple lockdowns in 2022, the value of China’s esports market decreased to CNY144.5 billion in 2022. In 2018, the total investment amount in China’s esports industry was approximately CNY10.4 billion but in 2019, it decreased by 91.3% to just under CNY1 billion. The total amount in 2020 was CNY2.3 billion and the total amount in 2021 was CNY2.4 billion. In 2023, China’s esports industry generated a total of CNY26.4 billion in revenue, a decrease of 1.31% from the total revenue of 2022.

In April 2022, the National Radio and Television Administration and the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee issued the Circular of the Department of Online Audio-Visual Programmes, which forbade platforms from providing webcasting for games not approved by the appropriate government agencies. On 22 December 2023, the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) published the Measures for the Administration of Online Games (draft for comments), which imposed strict rules on the operation of online games. Notably, this draft faced a tremendous amount of controversy from the public, and the prospects of its ultimate implementation at this time are uncertain. In fact, as of the date of writing (March 2024), the draft law appears to have been taken down from the NPPA’s website.

Women’s sports are developed to an equal, if not superior, level to men’s sports in China. Almost all professional leagues organise women’s sports events, for example the WCBA and CFA Women’s Super League. The GASC and three other government agencies issued the China Women’s Football Reformation and Development Plan (2022–35), aiming to improve the environment for and development of women’s football in China by improving the management of women’s football organisations and games and developing women’s football education. Statistics indicate that from 2013 to 2020, the number of female athletes over National Grade 2 increased by 141,000, and 480 of these were at international level, accounting for 57.1% of the total of new international level athletes. As of 2020, there were 7,434 professional level female coaches in China; 298 Chinese female athletes participated in the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020, accounting for 69.1% of the total number of Chinese athletes, and among 88 Chinese medal winners, 53 of them were female. In the Beijing Winter Olympic Games 2022, 176 Chinese athletes participated and 87 of them were female. Chinese female athletes won 14 medals in the Winter Olympics, accounting for 53.8% of the total medals won by Chinese athletes. The national women’s football team recently won the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup; Alipay declared that they would pay the team CNY13 million in awards. In the Asian Games 2022, 437 out of 886 competing Chinese athletes were female. Women’s sports is attracting more and more attention from the public in China. For example, the viewing figures for the Women’s Volleyball Nations League 2021 in China surpassed those for the men’s European Cup and the World Cup 2022 qualifiers.

NFTs are a relatively new concept in the Chinese sports market, and market players tend to be cautious toward the application of NFT technologies for sports collectibles. This may be in response to the hard line taken against private cryptocurrencies by the Chinese government. Since 2017, regulators have instituted an outright ban on cryptocurrency exchanges and ICOs in China and also imposed severe restrictions on the use of cryptocurrencies and relevant trading services. The Interpretation of the SPC of Several Issues on the Specific Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases about Illegal Fund-Raising, which was amended in February 2022, further expressly provides that the “trade of virtual currency” as a means of illegal fund-raising may be considered a crime under PRC law. However, the trading of virtual items is not a new concept in the Chinese market, far preceding the recent boom in NFTs. In January 2023, a Hangzhou Intermediary People’s Court ruled that NFTs that are designed as mere virtual collectibles are considered virtual property and are protected by PRC law.

NFTs have become increasingly popular as virtual collectibles, as sport events, brands and teams have developed and launched various NFTs as marketing tools. During the Beijing Winter Olympic Games 2022, NFT digital pins featuring Winter Olympic mascot Bing Dwen Dwen priced at USD99 attracted substantial attention and popularity.

There are no significant issues not already raised elsewhere in this chapter.

In recent years, China has emerged as a global powerhouse in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), marking a significant transformation in its technological landscape. By the end of 2022, there were 4,227 AI enterprises in China. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the size of China’s generative AI market is expected to reach CNY14.4 trillion, and has been widely used in the manufacturing, retail, telecommunications and healthcare industries.

The regulatory landscape applicable to AI in China has evolved rapidly with key regulations including:

• the Administrative Provisions on Algorithm Recommendation for Internet Information Services (“Algorithm Recommendation Regulation”) (effective from 1 March 2022), focusing on algorithms in internet information services;
• the Provisions on Management of Deep Synthesis in Internet Information Service (the “Deep Synthesis Regulation”) (effective from 10 January 2023), managing deep synthesis in internet information services and ensuring its responsible use;
• the Provisional Provisions on Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services (the “Generative AI Regulation”) (effective from 15 August 2023), which introduced novel restrictions for companies offering generative AI services to consumers; and
• the Trial Measures for Ethical Review of Science and Technology Activities (“Draft Ethical Review Measure”), published on 24 April 2023, aiming to establish ethical guidelines for AI-related science and technology activities.

AI and Sports

The application of AI in the realm of competitive sports, particularly in esports, has become a key point of interest. As early as 2017, one of the top esports professional players, Dendi, lost to the DotaAI, a gaming AI developed by Open AI, the team which later developed ChatGPT. In China, AI has also been increasingly involved in esports. China’s tech giant Tencent has developed an AI trainer for its mobile games to help players polish their gaming skills. Further, in the traditional Chinese strategy game “Go”, the emergence of AlphaGo marked a historic moment as AI challenged and surpassed human Go champions, raising global attention around the potential application of AI in intellectual games. However, certain Go players have also abused the power of AI in actual games. On 15 March 2022, the Chinese Go Association announced a notification regarding Liu Ruizhi’s use of AI cheating during a game. Upon investigation, it was confirmed that Liu Ruizhi had breached rules against use of AI during a competition. As a result, Liu Ruizhi was suspended from playing in professional matches for one year. The application of AI in intellectual/strategy games continued apace in 2023.

Further, AI has been used in the context of sports event broadcasting. In 2022, China Mobile partnered with WSC Sports, to generate and broadcast sports event aided by AI technology. Specifically, this partnership will incorporate the use of AI in broadcasting major sports games, including those of the NBA and Premier League, and will generate personalised game stats and sports videos for audiences.

As augmented/virtual reality, cloud computing, AI, blockchain and other technologies become increasingly more mature, the metaverse has been used in various contexts in China, including manufacturing, education, tourism and medicine. In terms of integration with the sports industry, the metaverse reconstructs the traditional meaning of “on the spot” in sports. On 28 December 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, GASC and other three departments jointly released the Action Plan for the Integrated Development of Virtual Reality and Industry Application (2022–2026) , which clearly proposes the implementation of a “virtual reality + sports health” application to achieve the organic integration of sports and virtual reality.

In the Chinese market, from the release of the Gongti Metaverse (GTVerse) to the opening of the Shanghai Virtual Sports Open (SVS), and then to the vigorous marketing of the metaverse during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the development of the sports metaverse has clearly heated up.

In particular, on 5 August 2022, the Shanghai Virtual Sports Open (SVS) was launched. This was the first comprehensive virtual sports event in China, including virtual rowing, virtual racing, virtual skiing, virtual cycling, and virtual golf. In the future, it will gradually expand to cover running, football, basketball and other activities.

Likewise, during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, China Mobile (as the exclusive holder of the tournament’s broadcasting rights in China) created a World Cup metaverse, bringing immersive visual environments to viewers through 5G technology. Sports consumption has ushered in various new developments in the Chinese metaverse, and virtual competitive arenas now allow sports fans to watch matches and interact with sports stars in virtual spaces. This immersive experience has greatly promoted Chinese market awareness of the potential applications of the metaverse within sports.

At present, China has not yet promulgated any laws that are directly focused on regulating the metaverse. However, regulations such as the Cybersecurity Law, the Personal Information Protection Law, the Data Security Law, the Administrative Measures for Internet Information Services (2011 Revision), and the Regulations on Protecting the Safety of Computer Information Systems constitute an external rule system that applies to the metaverse and related business operations.