View of INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND SPORTS INDUSTRY

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ACCENT JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS ECOLOGY & ENGINEERING Peer Reviewed and Refereed Journal, ISSN NO. 2456-1037

Available Online: www.ajeee.co.in/index.php/AJEEE

Vol. 06, Special Issue 04, (ICESD-2021) June 2021 IMPACT FACTOR: 7.98 (INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL) 1 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND SPORTS INDUSTRY

Dr. Avinash Yadav

HOD, Department of Physical Education and Sport,

St. Paul Institute of Professional Studies, Indore - Madhya Pradesh

Abstract- Intellectual property or IP can be considered as indefinable innovations arise out of human intellect. Copyrights, patent and trademarks generally comes under intellectual property but this list is long in some countries. In modern sports creativity and innovative ideas are responsible for its exponential growth in terms of popularity and revenue generation. The technology used to imagine and create shoes comes under patents while the outer look of a sports gear is protected under design. Similarly companies logo and broadcasting rights are also protected under intellectual property. This paper discusses the intellectual property rights in sports industry.

Keywords: Intellectual property, sports industry.

1 INTRODUCTION

It is expected that the global sports market in 220 was 388.28 billion dollars which may rise to 440.77 billon dollars even during the Pandemic. It is expected that the global sports market will be 599.9 billion dollars in the year 2025. The size of the Indian Sports Industry in 2020 is estimated at INR 5894 Crores. The biggest share here goes to media, where advertisement spends on TV, Digital and Print media contributed to INR 3657 Crores, which accounts for 62% of the total, spends. Sponsorship Spends included On-Ground Sponsorships, Team Sponsorships and Franchise Fee, and this took up 28% of the industry pie, which translates to an amount of INR 1673 Crores. An interesting shift that gained momentum in 2020 was the athlete endorsement which grew 5% over 2019, against the run of play in a year ravaged by the pandemic (Advertising and Media Insider, Indian Bureau, Apr 26, 2021). This is a huge change from old times.

The sporting events these are not like older times as monetary factors associated with it makes it more important in modern times. Modern sport is all about marketing a team, building brand names etc. This business angle enabled the entry of intellectual property rights in sports industry. These days marketing strategies are used to popularize certain logo, sports club or celebrity status enjoyed by the sportspersons. Due to monetary angle copyright is useful in protecting creativity in designing logo of a team or a tournament or mascot for a particular tournament.

The main aim of intellectual property rights is to protect the creative work. Various rights are available for protection of wide variety of intellectual property. For example invention and discovery comes under patents, brands such as NIKE comes under trademarks, while particular design is also protected under intellectual property. The sports broadcasters can claim copyright protection.Basically intellectual property shuns others to copy the design or technology of a product without permission. This gives economic boost to innovators as they get paid for their creations.Majority of the IP rights are given for a limited duration and often subject to fulfilling the certain criteria. There are few exceptions in intellectual property rights as sometimes one can use limited information without having to take permission from actual IP right holder. In a sense intellectual property rights boost innovative thinking which can then be transformed into profitable business endevour.

Intellectual property rights provide a platform for innovative thinking to be a economically profitable business. One can not deny innovative ideas in each sport. It is equally true that economically viable sporting culture is not possible without intellectual property rights.

Enhancement of sports equipments such as sports gears or broadcasting rights are basis of commercial sports. Sporting technologies are man-made means (methods), developed to reach human interests or goals in or relating to a particular sport. Technology in sports is a technical means by which athletes attempt to improve their training and competitive surroundings in order to enhance their overall athletic performance. Recent developments in sporting technologies have created a variety of products aimed at improving and increasing athletic performance.

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Vol. 06, Special Issue 04, (ICESD-2021) June 2021 IMPACT FACTOR: 7.98 (INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL) 2 2 BASICS OF SPORTS ECONOMY

According to World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) sports generate jobs that require superior skill set and knowledge. WIPO also illustrated that sports is a good medium to boost economy. One can divide basics of sports economy in four wide categories.

The first categories is economic value generated by major sporting leagues and teams in the World. The example may be NBA or IPL. This category includes sale of tickets and hospitality services during entire course of a tournament. The broadcasting rights is another main component of sports economy. The sporting good industry such as manufacturers of bats or tennis racquets is also a part of sports economy. Apparel and specific sportsgear are also part of sports economy. Kearney in a study reported that global market for sports was 80 billion dollars in 2014 and increasing at a rate of 7% annually.

Now lets look at the rights contained under intellectual property rights.

The advent of technological boon has led the sports experience to a new level. Digital technology has transferred the sports in a new way. Sports equipments with sophisticated sensors are used these days for performance enhancement in sports. Protective gears such as helmets, shoes light weight composite materials are used in modern days. Modern stadium enables spectators to have physical as well as digital delight during a match. The protective gears, digital equipments and their innovative technologies comes under patent.Sports business is dependent upon trademarks to a certain extent. Logo, captions, name of the teams and symbols comes under trademarks. One can connect with trademark with famous sportspersons acting as brand ambassadors. This brand image and monetary considerations makes Trademarks important in sports.Copyright Act 1957 gives protection related to slogans, images or events. It is not necessary to register to get the benefits of copyright act.

The intellectual property rights can be understood more thoroughly with the help of Indian Premier League and its functioning. In India, Indian Premier league is protected by various intellectual property rights. The leagues which started in 2008 is protected by copyright, trademark, trace practices and telecommunication laws. In a way use of IPL and name of its franchise are branded. The logo of IPL, the logo of each franchies, domain name namely www.iplt20.com.

3 IMPORTANCE AND NEED OF IPR IN SPORTS

IP lies at the heart of the huge commercial opportunities offered by the world of sport. IP rights (especially patents, trademarks and broadcasting rights) - and the legal protection they give – help to secure the economic value of sport. This in turn stimulates growth of the sports industry, enables sporting organizations to finance high-profile sports events, and provides the means to promote sports development. Business transactions related to sponsorship, merchandising, broadcasting and media deals are all built on IP rights. The sports industry has a growing impact on the world economy, creating jobs, investing in public infrastructure and mobilizing resources.

 Technology

From the sports shoe to the swimsuit and the tennis racket to the football, sports technologists have applied their ingenuity, creativity and expertise to develop better and safer equipment in the quest for sporting excellence.

 Branding

Brands are critical for creating business value, and the sports business is no exception.

Strong brands command customer loyalty and premium prices, constituting valuable assets that drive company revenue and growth.

 Design

The influence of design in the world of sport is far-reaching. Where image and aesthetics are involved, so too is design, and where new materials emerge, aesthetics or design soon follow.

 Broadcasting

Copyright and related rights, particularly those relating to broadcasting organizations, underpin the relationship between sport and television and other media.

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Vol. 06, Special Issue 04, (ICESD-2021) June 2021 IMPACT FACTOR: 7.98 (INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL) 3

 Licenses & sponsorship

By acquiring intellectual property (IP) rights and then using them strategically, sports organizations and other rights owners can protect and increase their income-generating potential.

 The Olympic Games

The IP system, and trademarks in particular, play a pivotal role in safeguarding the unique character of the Olympic Games and their identifications, including the Olympic symbol, Olympic emblems, the flag, the torch and the anthem.

 How IP Assets Should be Protected?

1. Effective protection of symbols, emblems and eventnames through trade mark law.

2. Adequate procedures and remedies againstinfringement.

3. Protection against on-line piracy to protect thebroadcasting rights.

4. Protection of designs

5. Importance of the data mining and big data in Sport.

6. Protection against ambush marketing.

 What Should Be Valued and When

Different types of IP assets are treated differently when it comes to the frequency, focus, and organizational level where the valuation will occur. The table below outlines exactly when IP should be valued.

In addition to annual testing, many asset classes have guidance requiring impairment testing to be performed when a triggering event—defined as an event or change in circumstance indicating that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable—

occurs.

A disaster such as the Japan earthquake can impair assets. In some cases, buildings or other assets have been severely damaged or destroyed. In other cases, a company’s operations or financial performance may be significantly affected by the loss of an essential supplier or customer.

3.1 Intellectual Property Risk Management

Another important element in the discussion of intellectual property valuations and protection in the modern economy involves the strategic management and mitigation of IP risks. Firms of all sizes and purpose are motivated by similar goals in the creation of such programs:

 To identify what constitutes a risk sensitive intangible asset;

 To address new and emerging threats to IP;

 To properly allocate available risk resources given limited funds; and

 To achieve compliance within the legal and regulatory environment in which they operate.

In this context, there are several trends emerging within the space.

 First, IP is transitioning from exclusively a legal matter to that of a business/strategic issue; this is evidenced by the increasing number of

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Vol. 06, Special Issue 04, (ICESD-2021) June 2021 IMPACT FACTOR: 7.98 (INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL) 4 organizations trying to leverage the value of their intellectual property, launch joint ventures utilizing IP, gain from the value of their patents, and utilize IP as a central tenant of a M & A strategy.

 Second, IP risk management is migrating from a defensive to an offensive effort, which will have significant implications for firms’ overall risk management strategies.

 Third, a ―collective relationship‖ model for managing risks is developing and its maturity is being accelerated through technological advancements. Enabling technologies, such as cloud computing, will allow for greater sharing of intellectual property in defined ways as firms look for heightened efficiencies. Concurrent to this trend, the increased sharing of proprietary material creates complex questions that will be central to defining risk management strategies. Namely, who is the custodian for maintaining the integrity/security around the IP while in electronic, sharable form?

While IP risk represents, at times, an opaque and ambiguous topic, developing risk management strategies to address the issue involves the implementation of several programmatic fundamentals—defining the value of its IP, and then identifying, assessing, and evaluating risk impacts. With this foundation established, organizations are better positioned to focus on properly executing mitigation programs by ensuring necessary levels of leadership commitment, aligning the program with strategic goals, creating the program framework through publication of policies and standards, reviewing network architecture, and education and training. While such measures can prove challenging, the realities of the contemporary business environment require a robust valuation and risk mitigation effort to realize the upside potential of an organization’s intellectual property.

4 CONCLUSION

Revenue comes from different sources in sports industry. Through this revenue the sports culture is popularised. Due to branding and commercialization of teams and investments involved, the sports industry take adequate measures to protect its innovative ideas. Hence it may be concluded that intellectual property rights boost creative and innovation work in the field of sport. It may also be concluded that intellectual property rights enable new ideas to come into existence which eventually lead to performance enhancement, business and job opportunities and a pleasing experience of spectators and fans.

REFERENCES

1. Christine Chiramel& Vijay Pal Dalmia, India: Intellectual Property Rights In Sports Indian Perspective Intellectual Property Rights In Sports-Indian Perspective - Intellectual Property - India (2012), http://www.mondaq.com/india/x/164974/ (last visited May 16, 2017).

2. https://www.atkearney.com/communications-media-technology/article?/a/winning-in-the-business-of- sports.

3. Kudelski Group (2016). The New Face of Pay-TV Piracy and How to Fight It, p. 8, https://www.kudelskisecurity.com/sites/default/files/files/Kudelski%20Security_The%20New%20Face

%20of%20Pay-TV%20Piracy%20 and%20How%20to%20Fight%20it_White%20Paper.pdf.

4. Nielsen, Catch it Live: Sports Viewing Scores a Programming Goal, 22.2.2016, http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2016/catch-it-live-sports-viewing-scores-a-

programming-goal.html.