Dentons has long-standing experience and passion in supporting clients in the media, entertainment, sports, and gaming sectors.

Our support extends beyond providing legal services. For many years, the Firm has also provided philanthropic support of film, music, arts, and writers’ festivals and enjoyed enduring partnerships with cultural institutions such as the National Art School and Gallery of Modern Art. The arts truly form part of the Firm’s DNA in Australia, so it is no surprise that our lawyers bring genuine passion to their work in this area. Similarly, many of our lawyers reflect our national passion for sports, including our people who are Olympians, involved in leadership roles with the leading sports law association and in many other sports governance structures.

Media and entertainment: Innovating and protecting creative excellence

Australia stands as a premier destination for films and television production—thanks to its financial incentives, exceptional locations, top-tier technical infrastructure, skilled crews, and economic stability. Australian creative and technical talent is celebrated worldwide, fostering sought-after production partnerships.

Dentons’ media and entertainment team combines industry-specific knowledge with comprehensive expertise in corporate, real estate, finance, intellectual property, technology, employment and immigration, tax and litigation. We support a diverse client base, from established entities to emerging talents, across film, television, publishing, visual effects, virtual production, animation, and gaming sectors.

We also leverage the global reach and depth of our media and entertainment practice to navigate the complexities of the sectors with integrated teams offering you support across multiple jurisdictions.

Our lawyers have acted for producers, content providers, distributors, streaming services, broadcasters, new media companies, service providers, technology providers and talent, and have experience advising on all aspects of media and entertainment, including:

• Structuring and financing
• Acquisition and sale of media businesses, including television, radio and subscription interests and related real estate transactions
• Production-related agreements
• Employment, influencer and talent agreements and immigration matters for talent
• Licensing and regulation, including broadcast and software licensing
• Production incentives, including tax offsets (rebates) for productions, post, digital, virtual and visual effects production, Australian productions and official co-productions
• Content and format acquisition, licensing and distribution, clearances and rights management
• Corporate transactions and mergers and acquisitions
• Related intellectual property, technology and competition law issues.

Experience includes:

• Advising a US based virtual production on establishing its new facility in Australia including related employment, immigration, privacy, technology, tax and real estate advice
• Establishing a new production company for a new entrant in the Australian market for a foreign parent including related tax advice
• Advising Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation in relation to both the Report to Creditors issued by the administrators of TEN and the proposed Deed of Company Arrangement which has been proposed on behalf of TEN
• Advising KKR/United Group on its acquisition through United Group of a media portfolio (including TV channels)
• Advising Sony Entertainment on an anti-counterfeit strategy, and privacy and media issues related to its games and music businesses
• Advising a media outlet in its opposition of a business method patent for the creation and placement of advertisements over the internet
• Advising Paramount Pictures Australia on trade mark and copyright issues, reviewing advertising and marketing material and advising on the acquisition of relevant IP rights
• Advising one of the world’s leading brands on an influencer agreement
• Representing an electronic media company in the first Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia case to judicially consider the right to terminate a global patent portfolio licence agreement after the expiry of licensed Australian patents
• Acting on the sale of Prime Media Group’s regional radio broadcasting companies to Grant Broadcasters. The sale consisted of four AM and six FM licences in regional Queensland.

Sports and gaming law: Leading the game

Dentons offers legal expertise that spans major national and international sporting events, infrastructure and operational advice for venue owners, governance, corporate sponsorships, and intellectual property. With the explosive growth of e-sports, Dentons is also dedicated to guiding its clients through the unique legal landscapes of competitive gaming, from event organization to intellectual property protection, facilities management, ticketing systems procurement and other related transactions.

Dentons’ Australian Sports and Gaming Law team includes lawyers with experience in all aspects of sports-related matters, including:

• Acting for various sports governing bodies.
• Sponsorship, licensing, merchandising and intellectual property advice, including on all forms of data monetisation and broadcasting rights.
• Concessions, ticketing, safety, promotions, and advertising.
• Employment and safety for employees, contractors and talent
• New media, technologies and digital platforms including esports and gaming companies.
• Acting for professional teams, athletes and managers and technology providers to leagues, tournaments and games.
• Tax structuring
• Dispute resolution.

Our Sports and Gaming Law team is fully integrated across all departments and throughout our international network of offices, which allows us to provide consistently high-quality sports advice across Australia and around the world.

Experience includes:

• Acting in the Australian Football League Tribunal defending allegations from players relating to alleged breaches of the AFL enterprise agreement
• Acting for several rights holders on anti-counterfeit strategy for the Australian Grand Prix
• Advising on NFTs for a sports tournament
• Advising on gaming and lottery/competition rules for a leading brand
• Advising a sponsor of the Australian Formula 1 on negotiations of sponsorship agreements

Insights

Cheaters sometimes prosper: EU Court of Justice says software designed to help ‘cheat’ in online games may not be copyright infringement

June 16, 2025

Australia: Courts in the Australia and the European Union have recently considered software designed to help players of online games ‘cheat’. The EU held that such software did not infringe the copyright of game developers where the software did not change or reproduce the source code of the game or allow the game to be reproduced. In Australia, courts have found that such software provides gamers with advantages by allowing the gamer to perform unauthorised actions would fall afoul of the laws relating to technological protection measures. Our article considers what this means for game makers and software developers in Australia.

The new tort for Serious Invasions of Privacy commences soon – but who will use it?

May 29, 2025

Australia: On 10 June 2025, a new statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy will come into effect under Schedule 2 to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). However, the practical utility of this new tort is uncertain due to the high threshold for liability, limited suitability for class actions and wide exemptions for journalistic conduct. Nevertheless, the introduction of this new tort is a timely reminder for organisations to review their privacy practices.

New online safety regulations – Is your business complying?

May 19, 2025

Australia: New mandatory online safety regulations came into effect late last year. Non-binding guidance indicates the e-Safety Commissioner will not undertake enforcement action until around 21 June 2025 except in circumstances of serious or deliberate non-compliance. Is your business complying with the new online safety regulations?

View all insights for Media, Entertainment and Sports in Australia

News and Events

Recent Press Releases

Australian Sporting Alliance for People with Disability (ASAPD) appoints Dentons as legal partner

May 30, 2024

Australia: National sporting organisation, the Australian Sporting Alliance for People with Disability (ASAPD), has announced its strategic partnership in Australia with the world’s largest global law firm, Dentons.

Professional sports may run afoul of privacy law in collecting player biometric data

September 28, 2023

Professional sport is pushing the envelope in gathering and using player biometric data and will increasingly come up against player privacy issues.