Intellectual Property (IP) is a creation or invention by someone it can be images, design, symbols, literary and artistic works. Intellectual Property is known as a negative right because the owner enforces them by stopping third parties from exploiting the rights subjects. But in general the main aim of the Intellectual Property Rights is to encourage more creativity and innovation by making sure that these people get a reward for their innovation. Intellectual Property plays a very important role in sports industry. IPRs are found in almost every aspect of the sports industry these days. Every form of Intellectual Property Rights be it trademarks, copyrights, industrial design or patents in some or other way have an integral part of sports industry. Trademarks contribute in distinguishing logos, teams, tournaments etc. Patents boost technological advancements that result in better sporting gear and higher performance of the athlete. Copyright generates the revenues needed for broadcasters to invest in the expensive task of broadcasting sports events to fans internationally. Hence IPR plays an important role in sports industry to protect these creations and not cause any disputes. Popular sports like Cricket, Football and Formula 1 have a huge fan following all over the world and have developed into international brands.

1. TRADEMARKS

 Today’s sports is all about brand value and these brands are in general are trademarks which carry a lot of value. The characteristics such as logo, taglines, captions and slogans are the actual recognition of the brand. The brand value of a team, club or player is very important as it helps in creating a connection between them and the public at large which will further result in profit and popularity. The Olympics has its own symbol of the 5 rings and in the IPL every time has trademarked their team name and logo. There have been cases where players have trademarked their name like Michael Jordan.

2. COPYRIGHTS

Sport as we know it today would not be the same without broadcasting rights. It is the    ability to share the sports coverage through a medium to the entire world. This helps these broadcast companies to earn profit from viewers and advertisers. Many people believe that sports broadcasting is the most financial viable revenue for sports. Hence it must be well understood by now that these broadcasts are valued a lot and that’s why these companies have to copyright their coverage to prevent any piracy or stealing of coverage from taking place

3. PATENTS

 Patents are one the most important intellectual property in the sports industry. Their  importance varies from the individual sports to team sports where the actual IP’s are most likely to exist. The patent system has proven to be an important incentive for innovation, and its additional social benefits strengthen shared knowledge and encourage others to build on and develop existing technology, starting a positive cycle. The sports industry utilizes and benefits from the patent system. Technology continues to evolve everyday this also means the there is a better production and improvement of sports equipment. These upgrades in the sports equipment will improve the sportspersons performance and guarantee better results. New technology can improve the performance of the sportsperson as they can run faster, jump higher or kick and hit the ball harder and further. Safety also progresses with technologies that reduce impact and stress on the athletes’ bodies.

4. DESIGNS

 An equally important intellectual property right in the sports industry is aesthetics protected by design-specific intellectual property rights. Teams or sporting events use beautiful designs on in game items such as bats, balls and other items to capture the viewer’s attention. Industrial design is the key to making a product attractive and desirable. Brands spend enormous resources to understand consumer preferences and create stylish and attractive product designs to capture valuable market segments. Designs are not only for the way they look but also the meaning they have. For example the logo of Tour De France the word tour reveals a cyclist. The O makes up the back wheel of a bicycle and the U is the seat. The R is a riding cyclist. The additional yellow circle represents the yellow jersey awarded to the winner of each stage of the race. Hence these unique logos should be protected form an infringement.