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By Nandan Kamath 1. Who is a sports agent? An agent is a person employed to do any act for another or to represent another in dealing with third persons. The person for whom such act is done, or who is so represented, is called the “principal”. A sports agent is a person or organisation … Continue reading
By Shibumi Raje Introduction In broadcasting parlance, the term “blackout” refers to limitation placed on the broadcasters to televise a certain event in certain regions and/or on certain television channels at a given time. Although blackout restrictions can apply to any event, more often than not, it is sporting events that are targeted, possibly because … Continue reading
Times of India, Bangalore, January 8, 2014
By Nandan Kamath While the primary role of a sponsorship agreement is to document the ‘deal’ arrived at, the process of negotiating and finalising the agreement sometimes also irons out the parties’ understandings, which may have previously been inaccurate or incomplete. Therefore, a well conceived negotiation process can play an important role in a mutually satisfactory … Continue reading
In this learning module, we describe and summarise the current state of Indian law on “ambush marketing”, analysing the applicability and adequacy of available remedies with respect to such “ambush marketing.” Trademark Law Under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, a trade mark may be registered or unregistered. By registering a trade mark, the registrant is … Continue reading
By Roshan Gopalakrishna Introduction Over a period of time, celebrity endorsements have been viewed as an effective and prominent marketing tool by many companies. Typically, a public figure would appear in advertisements and promotional material marketing the products or services of a company. However, the past couple of decades have witnessed the evolution of ‘celebrity … Continue reading
By Nandan Kamath Introduction Franchising has gained increasing credence as a viable model for companies to expand their business in domestic and international markets. In simple terms, franchising is the practice of starting up a business based upon the intellectual property rights and business methods adopted by corporate entities. A franchisor owns these rights, while … Continue reading
By Seshank Shekar Introduction The practice of third party player ownership (“TPPO”) in football has been the subject of huge debate and controversy over the past few months following a spate of high profile transfers of players all across the top leagues in Europe. Some notable examples of players’ rights being owned by the third … Continue reading
By Roshan Gopalakrishna Background Sport has undergone such a revolutionary change over the past decade that today it constitutes a fascinating industry with the potential to generate substantial revenue for those involved in it. Much of this revenue is generated through the organisation of sports events, sale of broadcast rights and marketing of products related … Continue reading
The GoSports Foundation Athletes’ Conclave was held on the 17th and 18th of July, 2013. A first-of-its-kind programme by the GoSports Foundation, the Athletes’ Conclave played host to over 80 athletes, representing more than 12 Olympic and Paralympic disciplines from all over India.
By Nihal Zachariah Introduction On May 31, 2013, the Competition Commission of India (the “Commission”) passed an order in the case of Dhanraj Pillay & Ors v. M/S Hockey India (Case No. 73/2011), and cleared Hockey India (“HI”) and the International Hockey Federation (“FIH”) from allegations of abuse of dominant position and anti-competitive practices. However, … Continue reading
By Abhinav Shrivastava Introduction The emergence of anti-trust concerns in relation to the operations of sports bodies correlates with the rise of the commercial aspect of professional sporting engagement. Anti-trust as a species of law is concerned with the development of a market economy and concurrent limitation or regulation of monopolies. The principle underlying anti-trust … Continue reading
Times of India, Bangalore, June 19, 2013
By Seshank Shekar Introduction On December 12, 2012, Advocate General Niilo Jääskinen delivered a non-binding opinion on the arguments put to the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) in respect of a long standing dispute between the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (“FIFA”) and the Union of European Football Associations (“UEFA”) on one … Continue reading
By Abhinav Shrivastava Introduction On October 18, 2012, the European Court of Justice (“Court”), through its opinion in Football Dataco v. Sportradar (Case C-173/11 of the Court of Justice of the European Union), recognised the rights of sporting bodies to control access to and limit the utilisation of their databases comprising of match fixtures and … Continue reading
By Shwetambara Mani and Shibumi Raje Introduction The World Anti-Doping Code (the “Code”) drafted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (“WADA”) is the core document that provides the framework globally for anti-doping policies, rules and regulations within sport organizations and among public authorities. The Code was first introduced in the year 2003 (“2003 Code”), revised … Continue reading
By Roshan Gopalakrishna Introduction On 15 December, 2012, Oakley, Inc. (“Oakley”) filed a suit against golfer Rory McIlroy (“McIlroy”) and competitor Nike Inc. (“Nike”) in a federal court at Santa Ana, California. Oakley’s claim is that McIlroy breached the endorsement agreement signed between them, more particularly the ‘right of first refusal’ clause therein, by reportedly … Continue reading
By Shibumi Raje 1. ICC Development (International) Ltd and Anr v. New Delhi Television Ltd. Introduction In September 2012, the High Court of Delhi delivered a judgment in the suit filed by ICC (Development) International Ltd (“IDI”) and ESPN (Mauritius) Ltd (“ESPN”), (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Respondents”), against New Delhi Television Ltd (“NDTV”), … Continue reading
By Shewambara Mani Introduction The United States of America (“US”) is one of the most sought after destinations for athletes, entertainers, performers and artists. From college leagues to professional teams, the platform offered to a sportsman in terms of education, training and performance in the US is perhaps the best in the world. However, for … Continue reading
By Seshank Shekar Introduction It has become a fairly regular and widely accepted practice among many high profile athletes to incorporate separate legal entities. These legal entities are usually in the form of ‘loan out’ corporations wholly owned by the athlete. Typically the athlete then becomes an ‘employee’ of his own corporation, and the primary … Continue reading
By Abhinava Shrivastava Introduction On November 8, 2012, the Andhra Pradesh High Court (“Court”) overturned the life-ban handed out to former Indian cricket captain, Mohammad Azharuddin (“Azharuddin”) by the Disciplinary Committee (“Committee”) of Board of Control for Cricket in India (“BCCI”) in 2000 for his alleged engagement in match-fixing. Factual Background In response to allegations … Continue reading
By Roshan Gopalakrishna Case reviews: Football Association Premier League v. QC Leisure and Others (Case C-403/08); Karen Murphy v. Media Protection Services Ltd (Case C-429/98) Introduction On October 4, 2011, the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘ECJ’) held that licences for the broadcast of football matches which granted broadcasters territorial exclusivity and which … Continue reading
By Abhinava Shrivastava Introduction The Olympic Movement and the Olympic Games are meant to serve as a cohesive platform where athletes from diverse backgrounds from across the world exhibit their sporting calibre. The mandate of the Olympic Movement is inclusive, and actively encourages the participation and representation of different social and cultural groups in the … Continue reading
By Shwethambara Mani and Shibumi Raje Introduction Children and sport speak the universal language of fun, friendship, discipline and achievement. Sport significantly contributes to a child’s mental, social and physical skills by building tolerance, discipline, focus and respect. While childhood is often a precious period for building potential, a child’s body and mind may not … Continue reading
By Seshank Shekar Introduction The controversy concerning racism in English professional football over the past year came to a conclusion earlier this month, as the English Football Association (“FA”) sanctioned Chelsea Football Club (“Chelsea”) captain John Terry over alleged racist comments made to Queens Park Rangers (“QPR”) defender Anton Ferdinand. The FA sanctioned Terry with … Continue reading
By Roshan Gopalakrishna Introduction Celebrities are often the top choice for advertisers, sponsors and companies when it comes to brand or product endorsement for a variety of reasons. (This newsletter has previously discussed in detail the broad features of a celebrity endorsement agreement and the use of a celebrity’s attributes.) While this is an effective endorsement and … Continue reading
By Shibumi Raje Introduction In recent times, the issue of spectator violence in sporting events has come to the forefront, leading to the furore over crowd management and crowd safety. There have been multiple instances of harm being caused to spectators at major sporting arenas, the notable examples being the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, the … Continue reading
By Shwethambara Mani Introduction In July 2012, the Federal Communications Commission (“Commission”) held Comcast Cable Communications, LLC (“Comcast”), the largest multi-channel video-programming distributor (“MVPD”) in the United States, liable for carriage discrimination against Tennis Channel. The Commission held that Comcast had given preferential treatment to its affiliates, Golf Channel and Versus, and discriminated against the … Continue reading
By Seshank Shekar Introduction In June 2012, the New York Federal District Court convicted poker club owner Lawrence DiCristina on charges of operating and conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business in violation of the U.S. Federal legislation The Illegal Gambling Business Act, 1970 (“IGBA”). DiCristina (The “Defendant”) brought a motion for acquittal, arguing that … Continue reading
By Abhinav Shrivastav Introduction The Hillsborough Stadium crush of 1989 (“Hillsborough Crush”) is a key moment in the history of sports arena construction and crowd management, as it led to the removal of standing terraces in all first division and second division football club stadiums and adoption of sound crowd management practices, through a reduction … Continue reading
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