Intellectual property protection and enforcement at major events: Practical lessons learnt from the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games

LEGAL CONTEXT: Commercial sponsorship is a integral part of major sportingevents. The ability to attract commercial sponsors relies notjust on the attractiveness of the event. It depends also onwhether the organisers can offer to prospective sponsors anintellectual property regime which gives sponsors the comfortthat counterfeiters and ambush marketers are not able to obtaina "free ride" from an unauthorised association with the event.Prospective sponsors will be far less likely to pay rights for"exclusivity" in circumstances where there is no confidencethat that exclusivity will be protected. KEY POINTS: This article details the steps that were taken in relation tosuch issues for the 2006 Commonwealth Games, held in Melbourne,Australia. The matters addressed include not only trade markregistration and copyright assignments, but also special purposelegislation and practical strategies to ensure the effectivenessand community acceptance of the intellectual property enforcementregime. PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Numerous suggestions are made in the article for the benefitof others who are looking to be involved in major sporting orother events where sponsorship and licensing are important andwhere counterfeits and ambush marketing therefore need to beaddressed.