SPORTS LAW AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
You cannot steal somebody's intellectual property. Law and justice protect.
- Bikram Choudhury
There are several federations in India that offer sports equipment, however outside of cricket, India consistently performs poorly in important tournaments like the Olympics. The absence of uniform sports regulations in India is one of the key causes. A law that regulates sports and unites the many authorities under one roof is necessary.
Sports law has an astonishingly well-developed pattern of globalised regulation and significant overlaps with other legal systems such as labour law, contract law, criminal law, public law, administrative law, antitrust law, competition law, intellectual property rights law, tort law, media law, company law, etc. These laws have been used to situations involving sports that involve public order, drugs, safety, disciplinary actions, conduct, and larger issues relating to trade restraint, anti-competitive behaviour, match fixing, and the commercial exploitation of sports. Sports law also includes important topics like privacy rights and defamation.
The sporting events have changed from what they once were. Money now plays a huge part in every sporting event worldwide. Sports have significantly become corporateized. Franchise marketing and brand creation for sports, athletes, and events have become enormously important, surpassing all other important game-related factors.
The utilisation of intellectual property rights (IPRs) as marketing tools to promote athletic events, related events, sports teams, clubs, and celebrity status, among other things, is a valuable asset. While copyrights vested in brand and image development, etc., are secured to reap benefits on an exclusive basis given the very nature of competition in sports, marketing strategies are used in the creation, maintenance, popularisation, and sustenance of distinguishing marks, logos, and personalities. The expansion of the sports sector created new potential for broadcasting, sponsorship, etc., but branding and the misuse of branding might ruin these opportunities. Trademarks, broadcasting rights, sponsorship difficulties, and other intellectual property-related issues need to be resolved as the Indian economy grows and India's involvement in international sport increases.
The Indian government introduced the sports bill, 2011, which the cabinet rejected, in an effort to streamline the sports business while considering the interests of all parties involved, including teams, sponsors, and the general public. The National Sports Ethics Commission Bill, 2016, a new bill that aims to bring about legislative reform to help improve the integrity of sports in India, was introduced in the parliament in the early months of 2016. If it becomes a reality, the bill will have some control over how sports are managed.. The Formula One race that was successfully held in India highlighted the corporate world's business interest in advertising and event management. The organisation and flawless execution of a race of this calibre on Indian soil for the first time has elevated the country to elite status and drawn attention to the sports legislation and intellectual property rights, which may be used to build brands and generate enormous wealth. Cricket used to be considered the pinnacle of sports in India, but it has since evolved into a wealthy commercial industry.
Initiatives like the T20-20 format, the Indian Premier League, the Hockey India League, the Indian Badminton League, ProKabaddi, the Indian Super League, and heritage sports like Goti, Lagori, and Gatta Gusthi have proudly declared that business is now at the forefront of the game. As a result of this transition, the need for intellectual property rights protection at sporting events is becoming more critical. Due to the commercialization and exploitation of athletes and athletic events, intellectual property rights such as copyrights, trademarks, industrial designs, and patents have significantly increased in value for protection.
From a legal point of view, intellectual property rights such as trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, personality and image rights, advertising and publicity rights, licencing opportunities, and franchising have gotten enormously valuable for the protection, commercialization, and exploitation of commercial aspects of sports, athletes, and sporting events. IPL teams in India are a good illustration of how value can be created through branding and intellectual property exploitation.
In the case of
BCCI v. GISPL (CS. No 815 of 2017)
BCCI filed a lawsuit for trademark infringement against Grace Sports Pvt Ltd (GSPL) for utilising the domain names www.juinorsipl.com and www.ijplt20.com together with the trademark "Indian Junior Player League Twenty 20." In addition, BCCI sued GSPL for hosting a tournament similar to the IPL for young cricketers between the ages of 14 and 18. The Bombay High Court prohibited GSPL from violating the BCCI's "IPL" trademark in any way.
The use of trademarks in the sports industry is significant. Sports teams, clubs, players, products, etc. gain brand value as a result of the introduction of branding of sporting events through the use of elements like a logo, captions, taglines, slogans, and team names, etc. (together referred to as trademarks). The popularity ratings of any specific team, club, player, etc. are boosted by the level of association that team names and emblems make with the general public and fan base. Since the players are well-known figures, even their names have become trademarks. By way of commercials, brand ambassadors, goodwill and reputation of the sponsors, etc., this popularity and brand image finally translate into financial gain. Celebrity status encourages a variety of image-building, brand-endorsement, and revenue-generating methods that rely on popularity. The (Indian) Trademarks Act 1999 makes it desirable for federations, organisers, team owners, and manufacturers of sports equipment to choose to register their team names, logos, venues, captions, taglines, and slogans as trademarks. This will make it simpler for them to protect their trademarks in Indian courts.
ICC DEVELOPMENT (INTERNATIONAL) LTD V ARVEE ENTERPRISES
One of the two cases using ambush marketing in India to date is this one. When the Defendant began advertising as "Philips: Diwali Manao World Cup Jao" and "Buy a Philips Audio System, Win a Ticket to World Cup," the Plaintiff, who had the registration for "ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA 2003," the logo, and the mascot "Dazzler," decided to file a lawsuit to stop them. The World Cup was determined to be a generic term by the Court, and since the Defendant did not use the Plaintiff's logo or mascot, "Dazzler," nor was the World Cup event covered by any domestic or international law, the advertising campaign promoting tickets for the Event was not deemed to be unlawful.
Sports have long been a significant element of entertainment. Sports have become a part of business due to the continuous change and progress. The sports industry in India has grown through time and is now one of the much more promising economic and leisure sectors. In India, cricket has long been regarded as a fantastic sport. The Indian Premier League (IPL), the most thrilling and well-known sporting event in India, and T20-20 are the two sports that are played there.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the country's national cricket governing body, oversees the planning of various home competitions. The cricket competitions held in India are marked by the BCCI. Indian Premier League, one of BCCI's most well-known and advantageous events, has both its name and logo registered (IPL). Numerous times, the IPL trade name and logo have been violated.
BCCI filed a suit against rediff.com, an online gaming company. BCCI filed a suit for the infringement of trademark or domain name Indian Fantasy League (IFL) and a logo depicting a batsman playing a shot in a game, as they were similar to BCCI, Indian Premier League (IPL) trademark and logo. The Madras High Court gave the judgment that IFL cannot use the name and logo as this amount to trademark infringement.
Sourav Ganguly v. Tata Tea Ltd, (CS no. 361 of 1997)
Where Sourav Ganguly, a well-known former cricketer and captain of team India, found out that a well-known tea brand, which hired him as a manager, was cashing in by giving customers the option to congratulate him on his achievements, upon returning to India after a successful session at Lords. The offer suggested that he had partnered with advertisements, which he had not done. He objected to this conduct and was successful in reaching a peaceful resolution. The judge determined that his notoriety and popularity are his intellectual property.
The Indian Trade Marks Act, 1999 offers both civil and criminal remedies that can be used in conjunction with passing off and infringement claims. A trademark violation in India is an unusual thing since it is a cognizable offence, which means that criminal proceedings can be started against the accused. Trademark registration is not required in India, and anyone who want protection can assert their rights in court. This type of enforcement techniques is anticipated to increase trademark protection and decrease trademark infringement in India.
In order to secure the value of sports and sporting assets as well as actively defending intellectual property from infringement and abuse, the owners must invest resources in registration, appropriate licences, and contracts. To safeguard all parties involved and their financial interests, it is advised that legal contractual agreements be in place to safeguard all intellectual property developed by athletic events, teams, players, etc. In order to safeguard the reputation and prestige of Indian celebrities, India should draught legislation for personality rights and work to create a successful sponsorship scheme.
It is advised that India develop a sports business model that could be used to create an effective IP rights strategy that could address the usage of domain names, trademarks, and designs in sports as well as media and broadcasting rights. Free access to televised sporting events is an alluring strategy for balancing the public interest with intellectual property rights. Adopting alternative dispute resolution procedures is also advised for the enforcement of rights in conflicts involving sports.
India must pass a law protecting sensitive information, especially in the sports business, as a growing nation with a real commitment to attracting and maintaining investments. This would serve as an effective deterrent for potential violators.
The National Sports Ethics Commission Bill, 2016, which aims to increase the integrity of sports in India, must be achieved despite all the challenges. To ensuring that sporting events continue to be a feasible financial reality in India, protecting and enforcing intellectual property in the sports industry is crucial.
Written by
Nupur Verma
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