Intellectual property (IP) rights (patents, industrial designs, trademarks, copyrights, etc.) are often associated with industry, usually the manufacturing industry. Intellectual property rights grant exclusivity to the owner of the intellectual property for a limited period of time. But organizers of sports activities are using intellectual property laws to take advantage of interest in certain sports.
Sports activities started as a hobby or hobby event so that participants could enjoy sports or as a form of physical exercise. Now, certain games have become giant international events, or more appropriately international business with their own “tailor-made” law. Such international events even defy the sovereign laws of countries.
Popular games such as soccer, golf, tennis, basketball, cricket, sailing, car racing, etc. they have grown into international events with a large following, creating gigantic marketing potential for the organizers. Organizers of popular games like FIFA (soccer), PGA (golf), NBA (basketball), etc., organize and manage the events, typically international competitions in such a way that they extract the maximum value from others who want to exploit the marketing. potential offered by events.
Initially, the organizers create a distinctive logo, emblem or phrase (s) to identify the event. If the logos or emblems are original, they would also be protected as copyrighted works.
For example, the 2010 FIFA World Cup emblem is protected as a trademark and as an artistic work under copyright laws. Terms such as “2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa”, “2010 FIFA World Cup”, “2010 World Cup”, “Soccer World Cup” and similar derivations are also protected against unauthorized use and subject to law. applicable in different jurisdictions.
As the logo / emblem / taglines (“event identifiers”) are heavily promoted in the mainstream media, they are easily and very quickly associated with the event by the public and thus acquire strong brand equity. The event organizers then proceed to exploit the value of the trademark for other companies.
Let’s analyze various sources of income for organizers. The first line of income is the sponsorship fees. This includes the right to display the sponsor’s trademark within the venue / stadium of the games, the right to use the event identifiers on items manufactured by the sponsors, or the right to use the event identifier in association with a service ( for example, banking, credit card (VISA), business process outsourcing (Mahindra Satyam)) or placement rights (for example, a certain luxury watch brand next to golf course tee boxes).
The second line of income is door collection. Even here you can sponsor the printing of tickets, that is, the ticket that bears the sponsor’s trademark.
The third source of income is the exclusive supply of products for the games, such as soccer balls, tennis balls, shuttlecocks (badminton), fuels and lubricants (car racing), etc. The supplier of the articles has the right to describe himself as the “official supplier” to promote his articles and advertise himself as the exclusive supplier of such articles. Ironically, although Adidas was a top-tier sponsor / partner at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it was Nike that attracted the most attention from spectators, whether through the players’ football boots or clever advertisements. . Is this a case of bad sponsorship strategy by Adidas?
The fourth source of income, and increasingly the most lucrative source of income, is the exclusive right to record and broadcast the event on television and radio, and possibly the Internet in the near future. Transmission rights are granted to regional and national transmission networks. All copyrights regarding the recording and transmission of the games are retained by the organizers or are licensed to specific entities.
Lastly, the organizers also grant manufacturers exclusive rights to make and sell pet merchandise or products bearing the event identifier in exchange for the payment of a royalty fee.
The organizers have a wide source of income, namely:
1. Sponsorship fees
2. Pick up at the door
3. Exclusive rights for the use of the product in case of
4. Broadcasting rights
5. Marketing rights
In addition to the event organizers, other manufacturers and service providers benefit by sponsoring the sporting appeal and gaming equipment of certain teams or players. Just consider the brand of the player’s jersey, shorts, cap, gloves, shoes, socks, etc. In South Africa, the shoes of a non-sponsoring brand worn by the players stood out as prominently (if not more) than those of one of the official sponsors. In the case of racing drivers, have you ever seen simple racer jumpsuits? In contrast, the driver’s overalls, including the helmet, are often covered in a variety of trademarks.
Even the soft drinks / drinks consumed by the player during the game are sponsored, and the full advertising value is taken advantage of. In this case, the trademark ad is not an advertisement for the product, like what appears in a television commercial, but rather the trademark or product is inherently associated with a successful player. What more compelling message can you produce, if not for a world-class gamer using the advertiser’s product?
In addition to organizers earning income as mentioned above, players, especially the best gamers, often endorse sports and even non-sports related products or services or businesses. For example, Tiger Woods not only endorses golf clubs, balls, jerseys, hats, etc., but also endorses watches, consulting services, and personal hygiene products (Note: He was later suspended / removed from the latter two due to his transgressions); Maria Sharapova, one of the best tennis players, endorses shoes and clothing, cameras and watches, among others; and the soccer player Ronaldinho has sponsorship contracts with Pepsi, Nike and Sony.
To get the maximum benefit from revenue streams, big game event organizers like FIFA must strictly enforce their trademark rights and take action against those who associate with their brand without the organizer’s consent. Unless organizers crack down on violators, they are unlikely to get high sponsorship rates for future events, not to mention possible breach of sponsorship contract.
Unfortunately, copyright laws were not designed for such periodic international events. Many manufacturers or service providers would like to be associated with international events so important that they attract billions of television audiences, but they do not have the opportunity or cannot afford the fees and costs. That is why they try to associate their product / service with the event without the consent of the event organizer. This is where “ambush marketing” comes in. Event organizers have a field day taking action against such marketers. But whether a particular event or announcement amounts to ambush marketing is unclear under conventional intellectual property laws. To avoid this, countries, especially host countries, must often enact specific laws to deal with ambush marketing before they are given the opportunity to host the event. Great Britain had to enact the 2006 London Olympics and Paralympics Act before the 2012 London Olympics. The “London 2012” trademark is protected.
The next question arises as to how and in what way the proceeds from the event are spent, say the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Who benefits from the proceeds? That will be the subject of another article for another day.
Note: The trademarks and designs identified in the article belong to their respective owners. The author does not claim any property rights whatsoever; they are used for educational purposes only.