ESPORTS
The Legal Facet of Indian Esports: A Reality Check Among the stories of prosperity and growth potentials of esports in India, there are some grappling legal issues that are quite prevalent. Dr. Mitsu Chavda, an actively practising esports lawyer shares her take on the esports legal puzzle.
By Amarylisa Gonsalves
E
sports is a rapidly growing industry. While we, as a country, may be just beginning to understand the industry, we cannot ignore the fact that even at this nascent stage the industry is facing internal and external legal issues. The newness of the industry, the lack of a central regulatory body along with the law to govern it, the lack of awareness among the players and other stakeholders, the lack of acceptance and the taboo surrounding esports; the reasons for the arising legal issues are just too many to even list down. To understand what issues are currently prevalent in the esports industry in India, we connected with Dr. Mitsu Chavda, an esports lawyer, a legal advisor and a social activist. She shared her take on the legal puzzle of esports, the loopholes and the day-to-day legal issues she comes across as an active practitioner in the field. Tell us about the different legal aspects of esports in India? Esports is a catching-up field. We
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have seen the advent of video games since the times of Sega, Atari and 16-bit, 32-bit games but with the advent of better internet facilities, 5x growth is visible since 2005. It is at a considerable level at this point in time. Laws such as cybersecurity law, contract law, criminal laws, IPR, and copyright apply to e-sports just as they apply to other areas of the society. We should pay close attention to any changes in laws and emerging trends to ensure we are never offside. What do you do as an Esports lawyer? - Drafting, review, and management of e-sports contracts; - Advice and consultation on sponsorship; - Right of publicity (intellectual property) - Governance, integrity, and supervision; - Rules, regulations and management of competition/ competition organisation; - Drafting related to esports constitution of the association; - Dispute resolution 2021
Dr. Mitsu Chavda, Esports Lawyer and Legal Advisor When we talk about esports, tournaments play a vital role. What are the different legalities of esports tournaments? Tournaments are engaging spaces of various stakeholders and hence it is a bit of a multi-
