|
FIFA’s
intellectual property, which primarily consists of trademarks like logos of FIFA,
World Cup, etc. and copyright in works such as emblem, mascot, official poster,
etc., can be used only by companies that acquire official license from FIFA to
show their legitimate association with the tournament. These licensed products
bear a quality guarantee in relation to standards of product quality, ethical
business practices and working conditions, which ensure that practices such as
child labor are excluded.[2]
However, the market is littered with
instances of “ambush marketing” wherein unauthorized entities take advantage of
the brand image and goodwill of another company without contributing to its
organization. Traders and producers dealing with items featuring FIFA’s
official marks without purchasing the required license defeat the purpose of
providing commercial exclusivity to companies that invest and associate with
the World Cup. Such investment is undoubtedly crucial to the organization of
the coveted tournament as it provides for the funding pertinent to maintain the
high standards of organization expected by the fans. Furthermore, such illicit
practices thrive on the fans’ improvidence and unawareness towards genuine FIFA
merchandises and insignias for unfair commercial advantages. Hence, the fans
face the risk of buying and using counterfeit products which are mostly poorly
made using low grade materials and do not meet the purported safety standards. These
practices adversely affect the tournament and are detrimental to the sentiment
of fair play that transcends the tournament
Realizing
the aforementioned risks associated with such infringements, FIFA has made
preparations to implement measures, together with customs authorities across
the world, to thwart the sale, trade and production of counterfeit products for
FIFA World Cup 2018. The instituted brand
protection regime would be focusing on identifying infringements of FIFA’s IP rights
and actively monitoring intellectual property registers across the world to
safeguard and preserve its exclusivity to its brands and marketing assets. Also,
FIFA’s enactment of Commercial Restriction Areas (CRAs) around the stadiums
that host matches of the FIFA World Cup™ and other official sites would provide
additional legal protection to the legitimate licensees against prohibited
marketing activities around the stadium, unauthorized traders, counterfeit
goods and ticket touts.[3]Apart
from the legal measures, FIFA is also indulging in extensive awareness programs
to sensitize general public, the business fraternity, ticket-holders and other
potential stakeholders who may be duped or inadvertently partake or contribute
to successful commission of such activities.
Though the policies
enacted by FIFA certainly assure protection against the counterfeit goods,
however, the battle doesn’t end here. Even the service providers, like the
television companies that legally procure licenses for broadcasting the
tournament, share the concern of ambush marketing. Recently, Sony warned
streaming sites in India and the neighboring countries against broadcasting of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Through emails sent to various streaming sites,
Sony reiterated its exclusive right of broadcasting, re-broadcasting and
transmitting World Cup matches in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This was undoubtedly an essential step taken by Sony
to reaffirm its exclusivity with respect to telecasting FIFA World Cup in the
said countries and to remind the relevant companies to refrain from infringing
upon the authorized exclusivity by streaming the competition through any
platform including the internet, mobile, television and radio without Sony’s
written permission. The caution notice highlighted the monitoring activities
that would be taken up by the agency to check any kind of infringements and
asserted its right to initiate legal proceedings (civil and/or criminal) in
case of violation of the said notice.
[1]
Available at https://www.inta.org/press/pages/fifaworldcup2014_en.aspx.
[2] https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/marketing/brand-protection/protect-fifa-world-cup-brand.html.
[3] https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/marketing/brand-protection/surveillance.html.
No comments:
Post a Comment