As the 2024 Paris Olympic Games come to a close and the excitement builds for the Paralympic Games, light has been shone on the intellectual property issues that surround sports. IP protection is vital in sports, safeguarding the goodwill of brands and enabling rights holders to prevent unauthorized use of their IP. This protection benefits athletes and sports organisations and enhances consumer enjoyment. Below are some of the key IP issues in sports today.
Illegal Streaming
The thrill of major sporting events like the Olympics, UEFA EURO 2024, Wimbledon, and the Six Nations is often marred by counterfeiting and illegal streaming. According to the EUIPO, 12% of EU citizens stream sports content from illegal sources, with this number rising to 27% among those aged 15-24. In Ireland, 37% of the youth admit to this activity. Sports organisations rely heavily on revenue from broadcasting and media rights, with the International Olympic Committee spending around $1.5 billion annually to support athletes and sports organisations globally. Revenue lost to illegal streaming means less funding for athletes, coaches, infrastructure, and event organisation.
To counterbalance these issues, in 2023 the European Commission adopted its “Commission Recommendation of 4.5.2023 on combatting online piracy of sports and other live events”. This recommendation focused on three main areas: highlighting the importance of taking prompt action, granting legal standing for sports event organisers to seek injunctions, and encouraging right holders in the transmission of live events to increase the availability, affordability and attractiveness of their commercial offers to end users in the Union. The EUIPO's Agorateka tool is a useful resource for identifying legal content sources, including sports events.
Counterfeiting
The EUIPO's Intellectual Property and Youth Scoreboard reveals that 10% of EU youth aged 15-24 intentionally purchase fake sporting goods, while 7% accidentally buy such goods. The sale of counterfeit sports goods results in an estimated annual loss of €851 million. Beyond financial losses, counterfeit goods can damage brand reputations and pose health risks due to non-compliance with safety and environmental standards. Trade mark violations often occur through unauthorized use of team logos and symbols on merchandise, extending to digital products like NFTs.
In response, the European Commission's "Commission Recommendation on measures to combat counterfeiting and enhance the enforcement of intellectual property rights" focuses on stakeholder cooperation, increased sanctions for serious IP crimes, AI use to detect counterfeit goods, and raising IP awareness among SMEs.
Fascinatingly, Operation FakeStar, a law enforcement initiative resulted in the seizure of 8 million counterfeit items valued at €120 million and the arrest of 264 individuals. In this 9 month operation in 2022, European law enforcement led by the Spanish National Police and the Hellenic Police were able to collaborate with Europol to fight against the counterfeiting epidemic in Europe. Several other EU member states were also involved in the initiative, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, demonstrating the importance of international cooperation in combating counterfeiting.
Licensing Rights and Geo-Blocking:
The complexities of intellectual property licensing rights were highlighted this summer when news broadcasts from Irish public broadcaster RTÉ were geo-blocked in Northern Ireland due to licensing restrictions on Olympic footage, with their rights limited to broadcasting the Olympics solely in the Republic of Ireland. RTÉ is an Irish public service broadcaster that produces and broadcasts news programmes on television, radio and online. RTÉ sought permission to extend coverage to Northern Ireland but was unable to do so because the BBC holds the exclusive free-to-air rights for the region, a deal established in 2016 with Discovery, the pan-European rights holder.
A decision was subsequently made by RTÉ to resume news broadcasts in Northern Ireland based on a "fair usage" copyright policy allowing short clips of Olympic content—around 30 seconds or less—to be included in news bulletins. However, RTÉ is still unable to broadcast full Olympic events in Northern Ireland, as these rights are held exclusively by the BBC.
The incident has been heavily criticized by viewers and various politicians, with the Foyle MP stating that "commercial custom and practice shouldn’t be allowed to get in the way of something as basic as getting the news."
The Olympic and Paralympic properties
A final interesting note brought to light this summer is the advanced protection afforded to the Olympic and Paralympic properties. Olympic and Paralympic properties enjoy special IP protection, including registered designs, copyrights, and trade marks. Many countries have enacted specific legislation granting the International Olympic Committee and National Olympic Committees exclusive rights to exploit these properties. The Nairobi Treaty on the Protection of the Olympic Symbol, adopted in 1981, requires member states to refuse or invalidate marks containing the Olympic symbol without International Olympic Committee authorisation.
The protection provided by IP rights and legislation ensures that the use of Olympic Properties in the market must be authorised by the International Olympic Committee. This regulation is vital as the International Olympic Committee relies on revenue from IP rights to support athletes, develop sports worldwide, and organise the Olympic Games. Without this protection, the International Olympic Committee's ability to generate revenue would be compromised, jeopardizing its support for the sports community.
IP protection and management is not just about safeguarding logos and symbols but it is also about ensuring the future of sports. It means better funding for athletes, fair play, and a more enjoyable experience for fans around the globe. As we've seen this summer, investing in IP protection and continuous enforcement is crucial for maintaining the integrity and excitement of sports.
