MERCHANDIZING AND THE QATAR WORLD CUP 2022
Merchandising is an arrangement/agreement whereby trademarks, designs, artworks, fictional characters, real personalities and other distinctive signs or symbols are licensed for use in relation to products or services.
Merchandizing for the FIFA World Cup is a multi-million dollar industry. The length of the Qatar World Cup 2022 was extremely appealing to brands. From a product marketing perspective, a lot of these brands got to highlight their key products on the field of Play.
Intellectual Property in the Sports Business
Sports show Intellectual Property in action.
Patents encourage technological advances that result in better sporting equipment. Trademarks, brands and designs contribute to the distinct identity of events, teams and their gear. Copyright-related activities generated the revenues needed for broadcasters to invest in the costly undertaking of broadcasting Intellectual Property Rights are therefore the basis of Licensing and Merchandising agreements that earn revenues to support the development of the sports industry.
Key Players that Influenced Merchandising in the Qatar World Cup 2022
1. Manufacturers
The Manufacturers sought commercial success hence they focused on producing innovative high quality products that give them a competitive advantage in the market.
2. Corporate Sponsors
They leverage their trademark rights in sponsorship deals to promote their products in sports venues.
3. Broadcasters and Other Media Platforms
The team is always interested in securing the exclusive rights to broadcast these exciting events live to boost audience ratings.
4. Sports Fans
They always want the best possible fan experience, including a wide range of high quality viewing.
Benefits of Merchandising
1. Increase brand visibility and appeal.
2. Valuable marketing tool
3. Expansion into markets extending product range and business
4. Relatively risk- free and cost effective
5. Further revenue stream though lucrative royalties from license agreement fees
Impact of the FIFA QATAR WORLD CUP 2022
With the development of football worldwide as its core value, FIFA shares the success of the Qatar World Cup 2022 with its Member associations and the worldwide football community at large. The revenue from the commercial programme has enabled FIFA to support various educational, technical, medical and other development activities. In June 2022, FIFA launched guidelines to provide information and guidance to interested parties on FIFAs Intellectual Property and other commercial rights I relation to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM (hereinafter referred to as the Tournament and FIFA)
Overview of the Official Marks of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
FIFA developed a range brand of assets, including logos, words, titles, symbols and other identifiers in connection with the Tournament & FIFA. The Official Intellectual Property is protected in Qatar & territories around the world by copyright, trademark and/or other forms of Intellectual Property .Nonetheless, laws such as unfair competition, passing off and any other relevant laws protect FIFA against unauthorized use of identical reproductions and also confusingly similar variations & Modifications of the Official Intellectual Property.
Importance of Protecting the Tournament Brand
FIFA granted certain commercial rights such as broadcasting, ticketing, hospitality, advertising and other promotional rights associated with FIFA, the tournament. The Right Holders in turn made vital financial contributions to ensure that the tournament would be staged and investments can be made in further developing the game worldwide. The Right Holders however, only invest in FIFA/The Tournament if they are provided with exclusivity for the use of the Official Marks and other commercial rights.
Without exclusivity, i.e if the Tournament brand were not protected anyone were able to use the Official Intellectual Property and thereby create an association with the Tournament for free, the acquired rights would be significantly diminished in value. This would make becoming a Rights Holder less attractive and could ultimately result in FIFA not being able to secure the necessary funding for future tournaments and for fostering football development worldwide through flagship programmes such as the FIFA Forward Development Programme.
Illegal merchandising constitutes a problem that thousands of big sports brands need to face. Giving your products a certificate of authenticity that is easy to recognize is one of the most desired solutions. It’s achievable, especially if you use the combination of QR or AR technology with block chain solutions. The protection of FIFA’s commercial rights, including the Official Intellectual Property was crucial for staging the Tournament and FIFA continuously reminds non-affiliated entities/individuals to respect FIFAs rights and conduct their activities without commercially associating with the tournament.
Cindy Nariasi is an Advocate, a Professional Privacy Associate at (Kenya Privacy Professional Associates) and a State Counsel at the Office of the Attorney General and Department of Justice.