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One of the most problematic issues of Wayne Rooney's new Pounds 300,000 per week contract was agreeing his image rights. However, the future handling of image rights is about to change.
Image rights refer to an individual's proprietary right to their name, physical characteristics, image and 'style' and the right to prevent unauthorised use of any of these.
There are currently no formally recognised rules on image rights in the UK. Therefore, a player will have to protect his image through an unsatisfactory combination of privacy laws, breach of confidence and passing off.
However, a player can make a profit by selling or licensing his image rights to his club or to a third party. The relevant club or third party will then obtain permission to use the player's image for sponsorship, marketing and commercial purposes.
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