Sports are celebrated at this year’s World IP Day on 26 April 2026. Can sports movements be protected by copyright? We admire the poetry of Zinedine Zidane or the drama of Cristiano Ronaldo. Are these players artists or actors?
The easy answer is that sport movements are not protected by copyright. They would not be determined by an individual creative choice, which is a requirement for copyright protection. The movement would be functional, determined by circumstances or luck, and the rules of the game.
This leads us right to the heart of copyright protection: when is a work the result of an original creative choice, not determined by functionality?
It is generally recognized that gymnastic and skating routines can enjoy copyright, as well as choreography, circus acts or magician routines. All of this gets very close to the movements of an athlete.
The decisive point becomes the following: does the player make a decision to perform a certain movement or sequence of movements, not only for the functionality but also for the – let’s say – beauty of it, like, for instance, Zidane with the “Zidane roulette”? If the answer to the question is yes, then the player gets in the neighborhood of being an artist or an actor.
When the goal is made, deliberate celebration gestures or victory signs are performed. They are sometimes already trademarked, such as the famous celebration gesture of Kylian Mbappé whereby he crosses his arms and tucks his hands underneath his armpits.
A further difficult question: a whole sequence of movements can enjoy copyright protection, but to which extent can it be broken down to just one or a couple of movements? There are many examples in applied arts, graphic design and music where a simple work receives copyright protection. One word can enjoy copyright protection.
Of course many movements will already be in the public domain. But new creations can be independent from an earlier creation.
So remember when the world championship soccer is coming up: sport is art. Just like law.
