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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 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 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 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
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 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 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 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 Seshank Shekar and Prabhjyot Chhabra Introduction Professional athletes or sportsmen are perhaps among the most mobile and high income individuals in the world today. The income earned or generated by such individuals is diverse and is spread across various jurisdictions. Apart from direct earnings related to the live performance or competition, the income of … Continue reading
By Seshank Shekar Introduction Personal brand endorsement agreements are an inherent part of the entertainment and sports industries. Brands spend millions in order to align themselves with a successful and attractive personality in the hope that such association will register a connection with potential customers. Most of these endorsement agreements for “personal services” secure … Continue reading
By Roshan Gopalakrishna Copyright law protects original works of authorship that are expressed in a tangible form, which includes writings, drawings, video games, movies, songs, etc. and restricts others from using such protected work. However, there are a few exceptions which limit the monopoly of authors over their creations. The doctrine of ‘Fair Use’ is … Continue reading
By Vidya Narayanswamy Case Review: Jonathan Spelman v. Express Newspapers ([2012] EWHC 239 (QB), [2012] EWHC 355 (QB)) Introduction This case concerns the lifting of a privacy injunction awarded to Jonathan Spelman, a minor rugby player. A privacy injunction is an order from the court, in certain special cases, that prevents the press from reporting … Continue reading
By Roshan Gopalakrishna Introduction In April 2012, the European Club Association (“ECA”), Union of European Football Associations (“UEFA”) in an observer role, European Professional Football Leagues (“EPFL”) and Federation Internationale de Footballeurs Professionels Division Europe (“FIFPro”) signed the Autonomous Agreement regarding the Minimum Requirements for Standard Player Contracts in the Professional Football Sector (“Agreement”). The … Continue reading
By Vidya Narayanswamy & Fatema Merchant Introduction The Olympics, regarded as the mother of all sporting events, offers a colossal opportunity for commercial entities to associate themselves with it and capitalise on its immense popularity. The London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006 (the “Act”) grants the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and … Continue reading
Case review Nike, Inc. v. Reebok International, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York No.12-2275. Introduction On March 28, 2012, U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York passed a temporary restraining order in favour of Nike, Inc., restraining Reebok from manufacturing, distributing, … Continue reading
Case review: Rugby Football Union v Viagogo Ltd. ([2011] EWCA Civ 1585), ([2011] EWHC 764(QB)) Introduction On December 20, 2011 the Court of Appeal directed Viagogo Ltd., (“Viagogo”) an online ticket exchange to furnish details such as the names and addresses of persons who advertised and sold tickets of the 2010 Autumn Internationals and the … Continue reading
Introduction Legally speaking, a ‘ticket’ is a certificate granting the person to whom it is issued, or the holder, a specified right or privilege. While the ticket itself is worthless, it is the right of entry associated with it that makes it valuable. Like other consumer goods, the forces of demand and supply are at … Continue reading
By Nandan Kamath Introduction The days of naming a stadium after a public figure or based on its location are long past. As companies and firms realise the value of being associated with sporting events, the sponsorship of sport has grown into a multi-billion dollar business across the world. Corporate naming of sports stadia now … Continue reading
Case review: C-604/10 Football Dataco Ltd and others v. Yahoo! UK Limited and others Introduction On December 15, 2011, Advocate-General Mengozzi submitted his opinion regarding a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘ECJ’) from the Court of Appeal of the United Kingdom. The question before the court concerned was whether football … Continue reading
By Nandan Kamath Introduction A sports agent is a person authorized to act for a professional athlete or sports organisation when dealing with third parties. In theory, a sports agent is merely an intermediary tasked with ensuring that the supply and demand for labour within sport and in allied industries is met. A sports agent … Continue reading
By Roshan Gopalakrishna Introduction In most legal systems, an agreement between two parties is legally binding and each party is required to honour the terms of the contract. An exception to this general rule occurs when one of the parties to the contract is a minor. To protect the best interests and welfare of … Continue reading
By Roshan Gopalakrishna The ‘right of publicity’ is a relatively nascent personal right in the Indian context. In brief, the right of publicity is the right of an individual to exercise control over the commercial use of the individual’s name, image, likeness or other distinctive features that relate to an individual such as voice, signature, … Continue reading
Andre M. Louw An Interview in 2011 with Dr. Andre M. Louw, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. Andre, could you tell us a bit about your journey leading up to your current academic position? After completing articles of clerkship with a Cape Town law firm and qualifying as an … Continue reading
By Nandan Kamath Since its launch in 2008, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has witnessed some of the biggest financial investments in sports in India. In line with international leagues and tournaments, concepts such as player auctions, the franchise model and corporate ownership, have made an entry into the Indian sports market and the sports … Continue reading
A 2011 Interview with Stuart Corbishley, Deputy Director General, Legal of the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Stuart, could you tell us a little about your professional journey leading into your current position? I originally qualified as a corporate & commercial lawyer with CMS Cameron McKenna in London before moving to Sydney, Australia where … Continue reading
Ashok, could you please tell us a little about your professional journey leading into your current position? It’s been a pretty long journey. I took my degree in law from the Madras Law College in 1982, started by clerking at a law firm in Bangalore in the early 80’s, then joined Parry & Company in … Continue reading
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