World IP Day: What sport can teach us about intellectual property?

Every year on 26 April, World Intellectual Property Day puts the spotlight on the role intellectual property plays in encouraging creativity and innovation.

This year’s theme — “IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate!” — gives us a particularly good example of what intellectual property looks like when it is working in the real world.

Because modern sport isn’t just about what happens on the field, court or track.

Behind almost every major sporting event, team, athlete and piece of equipment sits an ecosystem of trade marks, copyright, designs, patents, licensing arrangements and commercial partnerships.

And while your business might have nothing to do with sport, there are some useful lessons in the way the sporting industry identifies, protects and commercialises its intellectual property.

Sport is an IP business

Think about what surrounds a major sporting event.

There are team names and logos. Event names. Merchandise. Broadcasts. Photographs and video. Sponsorship arrangements. Equipment and clothing. Apps and streaming platforms. Performance technology. Athlete endorsements.

Intellectual property sits behind almost all of it.

Trade marks can protect the names, logos and other branding that allow fans to identify their teams, competitions and favourite sporting brands.

Copyright protects much of the creative content surrounding sport, including photographs, graphics, advertising and audiovisual content.

Patents and registered designs can protect innovation in sporting equipment and technology.

And then there are the contracts that determine who can actually use those rights — through sponsorship, licensing, broadcasting, merchandising and endorsement arrangements.

The sport itself may attract the audience. But IP helps turn that audience into a commercial asset.

Why sporting brands are so valuable

Sport also demonstrates something important about brands.

A brand isn't valuable simply because someone designed a good logo.

Its value comes from what people associate with it.

Sporting brands can carry an extraordinary amount of goodwill because fans have an emotional connection to them. People wear the colours. Buy the merchandise. Follow the athletes. Attend events. Watch broadcasts. And sometimes support the same team for their entire lives.

That connection is commercially valuable.

But to commercialise it effectively, the organisation needs to know what it owns and have the ability to control how other people use it.

That's where trade mark protection and licensing become particularly important.

A sporting organisation that controls its brand can license it for use on clothing and merchandise, enter sponsorship arrangements and authorise commercial partners to use it — while preventing unauthorised businesses from creating the impression that they have the same relationship.

The lesson for an ordinary business is much the same.

Your brand becomes more commercially useful when you actually control it.

Innovation doesn't just happen in laboratories

The “Innovate” part of this year's World IP Day theme is also worth considering.

Sport has long been a testing ground for new technology.

Think about advances in footwear, protective equipment, bicycles, racquets and other sporting equipment.

Then add wearable technology, performance monitoring, GPS tracking, data analytics, broadcasting technology and software.

Some innovations may be patentable. Others may be protected through registered designs, copyright, confidential information or a combination of rights.

But there is another important lesson here.

Innovation isn't necessarily a dramatic invention.

Businesses innovate all the time.

You might develop a new product, improve a manufacturing process, create software, develop a distinctive product design or find a better way of delivering a service.

The question is whether you recognise that innovation as an asset early enough to consider how it should be protected.

Because some IP rights are much easier to protect before you launch or disclose what you've created.

Athletes have brands too

Professional sport also gives us an interesting example of the relationship between a person and a business.

Successful athletes can develop significant commercial value around their name, reputation and personal brand.

That creates opportunities for endorsements, sponsorships, merchandise and collaborations.

But it also creates questions about ownership and control.

What exactly has been licensed to a sponsor?

How long can they use it?

Where can they use it?

Can they continue using campaign materials after the relationship ends?

What happens if the athlete works with a competing brand?

These aren't uniquely sporting questions.

Founder-led businesses face similar issues.

If the founder is the public face of the business, there can be significant value tied to their name, image, reputation and content.

As the business grows, it becomes increasingly important to understand what belongs to the individual, what belongs to the company, and what the company has permission to use.

The curious world of ambush marketing

Major sporting events also provide some of the clearest examples of why controlling a brand matters.

Official sponsorship rights can be extremely valuable.

That naturally creates an incentive for businesses that haven't paid for those rights to find ways to associate themselves with the excitement surrounding an event.

This is often referred to as ambush marketing.

The precise legal position depends on what a business actually does and, for some major events, special legislation may provide additional protection. But trade marks, misleading conduct laws and other rights can also be relevant.

From a commercial perspective, the problem is straightforward.

If anyone could present themselves as being associated with an event, why would someone pay a premium to become its official sponsor?

Exclusivity has value only if you can meaningfully control it.

And that principle applies well beyond sport.

If you're giving another business the exclusive right to use your IP, distribute a product, represent your brand or operate within a particular market, you need to understand exactly what you're giving them — and retain the ability to enforce those boundaries.

What can business owners learn from sport?

You don't need an Olympic-sized IP portfolio.

But there are a few habits from the sporting world that translate particularly well to growing businesses.

1. Know what you actually own

Your IP might include your business name, product names, logos, website content, photographs, software, product designs, databases, processes and other material.

Start by identifying it.

2. Don't assume registration can wait

Registering a business name or domain name does not give you the same rights as registering a trade mark.

And with some forms of IP protection, timing and disclosure can matter considerably.

Consider protection while you're developing the asset — not only when someone copies it.

3. Get ownership right

Who created your website? Your logo? Your software? Your photographs?

Was it an employee, contractor, founder or external agency?

Paying someone to create something doesn't necessarily answer the legal ownership question.

Good contracts can prevent an uncomfortable ownership dispute later.

4. Control how other people use your brand

If distributors, influencers, franchisees, sponsors, collaborators or other commercial partners are using your IP, document what they're allowed to do.

A licence should be clear about things such as the permitted use, territory, duration and what happens when the relationship ends.

5. Think about IP as something that creates value

IP protection isn't only about stopping someone from copying you.

Good IP can support licensing, expansion, partnerships, investment and ultimately the value of the business itself.

That's perhaps the most useful lesson sport has to offer.

The strongest sporting organisations don't treat IP as paperwork sitting somewhere in the legal department.

They use it.

Is your IP ready to compete?

You probably don't need to protect your brand with the intensity of a global sporting event.

But the underlying question is the same:

Do you know what your business has created, who owns it, and whether it is properly protected?

If the answer to any of those questions is unclear, that's a useful place to start.

You can complete my free IP Risk and Ownership Audit at www.elisesteegstra.com/ip-audit to identify some of the potential gaps in your business.

Or, if you'd like to look more strategically at what your business owns and how it should be protected, you can book a Strategy Call through my website.

And if you'd prefer to listen rather than read, this topic is also covered in the latest episode of Elise Explains IP.

Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. You should obtain advice tailored to your circumstances before acting on any information discussed in this episode.