We’re all getting excited about the World Cup in Brazil this year. But businesses hoping to cash in on the tournament need to be wary of infringing one of the many trade marks which have been registered to protect the interests of legitimate sponsors.
The scope of registered trade marks extends not just to the official emblem, mascot and slogan but also to more general terms such as ‘World Cup 2014’ and ‘Football World Cup’.
Commercial Solicitor Sarah Sillar says,"Protection of these phrases is vast and includes not only their use in advertising material but also their use in domain names and in mobile apps. Also falling within the scope of protection is any confusingly similar variation or modification so any business hoping to ‘get around’ the registered mark by using a spelling error such as ‘Brazil Word Cup 2014’ will also fall foul of the regulations that protect trade-mark owners."
Businesses are advised to check out the FIFA public guidelines for use of FIFA’s official marks
By enforcing such robust methods of protection, which FIFA will undoubtedly do, FIFA are ensuring that that the credibility of sponsorship remains intact and that they can continue to invest in the future of football at all levels, but by trade marking phrases such as ‘Football World Cup’ some will feel that they have gone too far, inhibiting the enjoyment of the summer football season by legitimate businesses who want to become embroiled in the excitement but who have no intention of falsely claiming an affiliation or sponsorship of the sport.
We have offices in the Christchurch, New Milton and the New Forest. Our Commercial team also cover Bournemouth and Poole. For a free initial chat, please call 01202 499255 and Sarah or a member of the team will be happy to discuss any questions that you may have.