A Guide to Understanding the Role of Intellectual Property in Sport

Through this article, readers shall understand the prevalence of intellectual property (“IP”) in the sports industry through the lens of various stakeholders in the sporting business. These include: organizers of sports events, sports federations, athletes, teams, manufacturers of sports equipment, broadcasters/media platforms, corporate sponsors and fans of sport.^[1]

This article is intended to serve as an introduction to intellectual property for those stakeholders in sports who may not be as well-versed with the law around intellectual property and how it is used in sport.

As defined by the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”), IP refers to creations of the mind, such as: inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, symbols, names and images used in commerce, etc. – which are protected by various types of IP such as trademarks, copyrights, designs, patents, image rights, etc.^[2]

IP protection is territorial and varies in every country, and also varies by the type of work. For example, India’s term of copyright for original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works lasts for a period of 60 years counted from the year following the death of the author.^[3] In UK, the duration of copyright protection for literary, musical, dramatic and artistic works is from the date of creation of the work until 70 years following the author’s death.^[4] In USA, copyright protection lasts for the lifetime of the author plus an additional 70 years for works created after 1 January 1978; and the term of copyright for a particular work also depends on factors such as whether it has been published or not, the date of first publication, etc.^[5]

Since different types of IP rights protect different products/services/inventions, stakeholders have to emphasize on securing their rights in that specific type of intellectual property which is relevant to them. For instance, sports brands protect their logo through trademarks, broadcasters protect their media rights through copyright, etc.^[6] Readers may please note that this is a general explanation to broadly highlight the types of creations which are protected by IP, and the type of protection accorded varies by jurisdiction.

There may also be instances wherein several types of intellectual property rights become relevant for one stakeholder – for instance, a sports shoes manufacturer may use patents to protect the technology used in developing the shoes, designs to protect the ‘look’ of the shoes, trademarks to distinguish their logo from that of competitors in the same business, and copyright to protect the artwork and audiovisual creations used in marketing and promotion of the sports shoes.^[7]

Hence, it can be observed that intellectual property is of interconnecting relevance for various stakeholders in the sports industry, and thus it becomes important to understand the role of each form of intellectual property in sport. Accordingly, this article covers:

• Trademarks for Sports Brands
• Image Rights for Professional Athletes
• Copyright for Athletes and Sports Broadcasters
• Designs and Patents for Sports Events and Equipment Manufacturers