Athlete and ambassador contracts
Fixed and variable pay, obligations to attend and to be seen, exclusivity by product category, term and termination for poor results or damage to image: the ambassador contract combines sponsorship and image rights.
The Basque coast holds an industry that is rare in France: boardsports brands with a European following, their subcontractors, athletes under contract, schools and clubs, and the events that bring them together. The legal questions there mix trade marks, image, distribution and sports law, often in the same file.
The firm has advised this industry since its beginnings, alongside companies leading the European surfwear market as well as much smaller operations.
Fixed and variable pay, obligations to attend and to be seen, exclusivity by product category, term and termination for poor results or damage to image: the ambassador contract combines sponsorship and image rights.
Partnership contracts, naming rights, filming and broadcasting rights, benefits in kind, the organiser’s liability: an event is put into contract several months ahead, with the local authorities as much as with the private partners.
Filing, extension abroad, licence agreements by territory or by product category, quality control, action against counterfeiting: the trade mark is the main asset of these businesses and managing it calls for contractual discipline.
Selective distribution, approved resellers, online sales, marketplaces, resale restrictions: reconciling control of the image with growth in turnover calls for a network built to withstand competition law.
Production contracts, specifications, ownership of the moulds and of the development work, quality, lead times, product liability: the supply chain is secured contract by contract.
Photographs, videos, content created by athletes or by independent creators: the assignment of rights must be organised when the work is commissioned, failing which the campaign can never be run again.
Constitutions, approvals, the instructor’s liability, insurance, general terms of enrolment: boardsports teaching bodies carry sporting obligations and safety obligations at the same time.
Copied products, imitated collections, unauthorised use of an image or a logo: we prefer the letter before action and the settlement, quicker than proceedings on the merits, without ruling out a saisie-contrefaçon search and seizure where it is called for.
The right moment
An assignment of rights organised when a campaign is commissioned costs three lines of contract. Asked for two years later, in order to run a visual again, it is negotiated with no bargaining power at all.
The subject is the same. It is when it is dealt with that makes the cost.
How we work
You set out the situation, we say frankly whether we are the right people and what the work would involve. No commitment at this stage.
It describes what is done, what is not, the basis on which fees are calculated and the timetable. Nothing starts without your written agreement.
One lawyer holds your file; each question is dealt with by whichever of us handles it every day. You have only one person to call.
Formalities, filings, deadlines: the firm takes over and keeps you informed until the file is closed.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, unless there is an exclusivity clause. That clause is drafted by product category rather than across the board, so as to leave the athlete free in the sectors the brand has no interest in. Conflicts almost always come from an exclusivity drafted too widely, then applied badly.
A general ban on online sales is prohibited. A selective distribution network may, however, impose objective qualitative criteria, including for online sales, and reserve resale to approved distributors. The drafting of the contract determines whether the arrangement is valid.
The photographer, unless there is a written assignment specifying the rights, the media, the duration and the territory. An invoice mentioning “assignment of rights” and nothing more is regularly held to be insufficient, and the brand finds itself with no right to use the images again.
By filing designs, which gives simple and inexpensive protection, supplemented where appropriate by copyright and by an action for unfair competition. The filing must be made before any public disclosure, subject to the applicable grace period.
The instructor owes a heightened obligation of means as to safety, assessed according to the age and the level of those taking part and to the conditions on the day. Liability most often turns on the organisation — supervision, equipment, information — rather than on the movement itself.
Entry in the national trade mark register is not a condition of validity between the parties, but it determines whether the licence can be relied on against third parties, in particular in order to sue for infringement. It is therefore strongly recommended.
Put together dated evidence of the use, then send a detailed letter before action. Most cases stop there. If the use continues, or if the loss is substantial, a saisie-contrefaçon allows the true extent to be measured before proceedings are issued.
Practice areas involved
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