Defending Its Turf: Fifa Combats Ambush Marketing

The first match in the 2010 FIFA* World Cup South AfricaTM is scheduled to kick off on June 11 next year but football fans are already caught up in World Cup fever. As are those planning to make a profit from the event. That is fine with FIFA, as long as they agree to play by the rules and pay licensing and sponsorship rights. FIFA is well prepared for ambush marketers who think they can take advantage of the sporting event without paying their dues.

The whistle has blown in the battle against these trademark infringers, and the game has begun. And FIFA is pleased to announce that the score is 1-0 in its favor. The first court case in South Africa has been successfully conducted - the result of meticulous planning and a well-formulated strategy.

Pre-game preparations

FIFA's efforts to counteract the activities of ambush marketers began in 2004, when the awarding of the right to host the tournament in 2010 was first announced. FIFA set to work assessing its ability to thwart its opponents, in particular within the framework of South African law. It found the playing field favorable: South Africa's experience with previous world cup tournaments had led it to establish effective legislation to deal with ambush marketing. This meant that, provided an appropriate strategy and legal structure were put in place - and available legal resources properly harnessed - there was a good chance the FIFA team would carry the day.

FIFA's first step was to make the most of these advantageous conditions. It embarked on an extensive trademark registration program covering trademarks such as South Africa 2010TM, World Cup 2010TM and the like. Once the official emblem had been created, it too was widely registered as a trademark as well as a design. To supplement these measures application was made to the South African Minister for Trade and Industry to declare the principal trademarks associated with the event prohibited from unauthorized use under Section 15 of the Merchandise Marks Act.

But those measures were only secondary to the main thrust of FIFA's plan of attack: to apply the provisions of Section 15A of the Merchandise Marks Act, which empowers the Minister for Trade and Industry to designate major sporting events as so-called "protected events." This prevents ambush marketers from, for example, attempting to obtain special promotional benefit from the 2010...

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