Sports Marketing & Sponsorship Quiz

Sport Marketing & Sponsorship (SS2104)

• Course offered by NIE, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
• Academic year 2024/2025, Semester 1
• Focuses on Legal Aspects of Marketing, specifically Ambush Marketing
• Course aims to educate students on legal concepts related to sports marketing.

Learning Objectives

• Differentiate the three types of Intellectual Property (IP)
• Grasp claims and defenses against IP infringement
• Understand the reasons behind ambush marketing prevalence
• Apply methods to prevent ambush marketing

Disclaimer

• The course material is educational, and not legal advice.

Intersection of Sports and Law

• Sports marketing has substantial financial implications due to high-value sports properties and associated rights.
• There are frequent legal issues related to sports properties.
• Practitioners need to be cognizant of legal aspects of sports practices.

Intellectual Property (IP)

• IP protects sports entities by rewarding invention, creativity, and ingenuity.
• It fosters an open and competitive marketplace.
• There are three types of IP:
  • Trademarks (TM, ®)
  • Patents (Pat. No ##)
  • Copyrights (©)

Trademarks

• A word, name, symbol, or image used by an entity (e.g., team logos).
• Protect the identity of sports teams and products.
• Can last indefinitely, renewable every 10 years.
• Types of Trademarks:
  • Trade Dress (overall appearance of product/packaging)
  • Service Marks (services like broadcasting ESPN, Fox Sports)
  • Collective Marks (membership in associations, sports leagues, professional associations)

Trademark Functions

• Identify the source of a product/service.
• Protect consumers from confusion.
• Guarantee product quality.
• Demonstrate the owner's goodwill.
• Reflect substantial advertising investments.

Trademark Infringement

• Unauthorized reproduction/use of a trademark in a manner likely to cause confusion.
• False Designation of Origin (false claims about the product's source).
• Trademark Dilution (weakening distinctiveness by another mark through blurring or tarnishment).

Trademark Infringement Defenses

• Abandonment (the trademark owner discontinues usage).
• Fair Use (use for description or comparison).
• Genericness (the trademark becomes overly common).
• Functionality (if the trademark is part of the product's function).

What Needs to Be Proven for Trademark Infringement

• Ownership of a valid trademark
• Priority of use
• Likelihood of confusion
• Similarity of marks
• Harm to the trademark

Copyright Scope

• Protects original works of authorship (literary, musical, and artistic).
• Governed by the Copyright Act of 1976 and Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
• Marketers need to be aware of copyright laws when using written, musical, or audiovisual works.
• Applies to expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves.

Copyright Infringement

• Occurs when a copyrighted work is used without permission.
• Courts consider:
  • Purpose of use (commercial or educational)
  • Nature of work (creative vs. factual)
  • Amount of work used
  • Effect on potential market.

Copyright Infringement Defenses

• Fair Use (use for education, commentary, criticism)
• De Minimis (use is trivial)
• First Sale Doctrine (original owner can't control resale after sale)
• Independent Creation (work created separately without copying)

Proving Copyright Infringement

• Originality of the work
• Fixation of the work
• Access to the work
• Substantial similarity to the copyrighted material

Patents

• Protect new inventions, designs, or processes.
• Ensure inventors are rewarded for ingenuity.
• Promote innovation in the sports industry.
• Typically last about 20 years.
• Types of Patents:
  • Utility Patents (new processes or machines)
  • Design Patents (ornamental designs)

Patent Infringement

• Unauthorized use, making, or selling of a patented invention.

What Needs to Be Proven for Patent Infringement

• Ownership of a valid patent
• Novelty of the invention
• Non-obviousness of the invention
• Utility of the invention

Patent Infringement Defenses

• Invalidity
• Non-infringement
• Laches (delaying legal action)
• Experimental Use (non-commercial use)

Ambush Marketing

• A form of associative marketing to generate goodwill from an event without official sponsorship.
• Competitors try to associate their brand with a sponsor's event, causing confusion.

Reasons for Ambush Marketing

• High costs of rights fees
• Ambush marketing is effective
• Consumers don't always notice ambush efforts
• Advertisers' attitudes are changing

Ambush Strategies

• Sponsor Media Coverage
• Sponsorship Subcategories
• Player's Pool Contributions
• Purchase Advertising Time During Rebroadcasts
• Coincide Advertising With Event Timing
• Other Dilution Strategies

Ways to Prevent Ambush Marketing

• Understand how to ambush rivals' strategies
• Limit the number of sponsors
• Limit signage and advertising near the venue
• Limit endorsement of non-associated brands by teams and players
• Enforce blackout periods
• Proactive surveillance programs
• Event organizers exercising more control over advertising