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Intellectual property rights (IPR) are vital to the sports industry. Revenues from the commercial exploitation of IPRs represent significant income for sports leagues, teams and events. The sector is growing in value and complexity, and every element of sports IPRs, including trademarks, personality rights, copyright, designs and patents must be protected.

Trademarks establish and maintain the identity and value of franchises such as Manchester United and the Mumbai Indians and of organising bodies, including the IOA, ICC and FIFA. Licensing agreements bring in significant revenue, and the unauthorised use of trademarks is rigorously tracked and prevented through court action. Branding is essential, as the success of the merchandising operations of IPL franchises has proved.

Broadcasting rights are the most lucrative IP assets. The IPL has revolutionised cricket broadcasting, with Disney Star securing media rights from 2023 to 2027 for USD3.02 billion. Digital rights, won by Viacom18, brought in an additional USD2.62 billion, reflecting the growing importance of streaming platforms but creating new challenges. Sports organisations and their broadcast partners now have to combat unauthorised streaming and digital piracy by using sophisticated technology and robust legal remedies. Delhi High Court has shown judicial adaptability by granting many dynamic injunctions against opportunistic rogue websites during major sporting events. In Star India v Magicwin.Games, the court restrained unauthorised websites from infringing IPRs vesting in the ICC broadcast of the matches during the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup and ordered service providers to block access to such websites. Similarly, the illegal streaming of IPL matches was prohibited in Viacom18 Media v John Doe.

Athletes are increasingly asserting rights over their images, likenesses and other personal attributes. Some jurisdictions recognise these as distinct rights, while others, including India, protect athletes’ commercial interests through trademark and unfair competition laws. Athletes safeguard their brand by registering their names, signatures and likenesses as trademarks. The cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has trademarked his name and signature to exercise exclusive control over their commercial use. Courts in India have recognised the personality rights and other attributes of celebrities, and this may be extended to athletes. The rise of social media has added another set of IPRs. Sports stars now must actively manage their digital presence to protect against unauthorised commercial exploitation of their personal attributes online.

Many sports teams have developed proprietary software and analytics to gain competitive advantage in the game. Such IP involves complex IP licensing agreements and may also involve the patenting of innovations. The emergence of NFTs and blockchain has also generated more opportunities for sports teams to commercially exploit their rights. In 2020, the US National Basketball Association launched a blockchain-based virtual trading card platform, selling clips of matches and other content. In 2023, FIFA unveiled its NFTs, which can be used as membership cards and are gateways to exclusive offerings such as exclusive match tickets.

This has also brought in IP-related challenges for sports bodies and players. In Digital Collectibles v Galactus Funware, Rario, an NFT-based digital collectables platform, and well-known cricketers who had licensed their image rights to Rario for its digital player cards brought an action for passing off and breach of their personality and publicity rights. However, Delhi High Court refused to grant an interim injunction, holding that the right to publicity was not absolute and had to be balanced with the right to free speech under the constitution. The defendant’s use of digital artworks resembling cricketers in its own platform was neither misappropriation nor passing off. The works were independently created and used solely as in-game assets without implying endorsement or affiliation. That there was no consumer confusion, misrepresentation or statutory protection for publicity rights further weighed against the plaintiffs.

IPRs play a crucial role in the sports business by safeguarding creative works, brands and technology. Managers must create comprehensive IP protection and enforcement programmes to protect their IP assets. This will ensure exclusivity, delivering maximum benefit through monetisation. Physical and digital challenges such as ambush marketing, counterfeiting and piracy must be overcome to maximise value for sponsors, fans and stakeholders.

Siddharth Mahajan is a partner and Vartika Prasad is an associate at Athena Legal.