The Football World Cup ushers a gigantic marketing machinery where particularly industries such as tourism, catering, culture and media are hoping to gain massive revenues.
Yet the commercialisation of this event does not only bring marketing managers, but also lawyers on board, because the major part of the earnings of those events are not formed by the ticket sales, but by the sponsorship money.
Since the 1980s, sport-sponsoring has increased constantly, due to the fact that companies are hoping to gain an considerable increase in publicity and corporate image benefits.
Given the huge expenses, it is not surprising that not only the organisator of the Football World Cup, namely the FIFA , but also the sponsors are longing for maximized exclusiveness of their trademarkrights.
Along with this exclusiveness comes the concern about competition law matters, which are also adressed under the behaviour of Strategic Branding.
This paper will deal with the problem of Strategic Branding and Ambush-Maketing in cases of eventmarks, using the example of the trademark “Fussball WM 2006” to illustrate the general problems arising from the application of eventmarks.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Course of investigation
3. The importance of branding
4. The event-trademark
4.1 The distinctive character
4.2 The Olympic Games
5. Strategic Branding
6. Ambush-Marketing
7. The World-Cup-Saga
7.1 Worldcup 1994
7.2 Worldcup 2006
7.2.1 Decision of the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg
7.2.2 Decision of the Federal Patent Court
7.2.3 The decision of the Federal Court of Justice
8. The european effect: decision of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM)
8.1 The Community trademark
8.2 Decision of the OHIM
9. Conclusion
Research Objective and Core Themes
This paper examines the legal and economic tensions surrounding "Strategic Branding" in the context of major sports events, specifically analyzing the challenges in protecting "eventmarks" and the impact of ambush marketing on trademark and competition law.
- Economic and legal functions of trademarks in sports mega-events.
- The conflict between trademark protection and the principle of keeping descriptive terms free.
- The practice of "Ambush-Marketing" as a strategy to benefit from event popularity.
- Judicial analysis of specific trademark disputes like "Fussball WM 2006".
- Comparison of national (German) and European (OHIM) legal approaches to event-related branding.
Excerpt from the Book
6. Ambush-Marketing
The term “Ambush-Marketing” , which is also known as “Guerilla-Marketing”24, refers to some kind of free rider marketing strategy mostly in the environment of a sporting mega-event, such as the Olympic Games or the Football World Cup. It is the biggest thread to Strategic Branding, because companies, which are not sponsoring the event are trying to benefit from the media attention by for example giving out flysheets or massive billboard advertising in areas near the sports facilities and thereby going against the negative impacts of Strategic Branding on competition. Associations with the event are knowingly aimed at to profit from it without any contribution. 25 In doing so, the financial costs and the allocation of staff of the ambusher should be minimized.
Today this is an approved instrument of marketing managers and many companies are thereby trying to circumvent high license fees or just prove their marketing creativity.
However, Ambush-Marketing is not only linked to mega sports events but can arise in connection with other happenings, which have a certain marketing potential for companies where sponsors or licensees are involved, but the field of sports events is of particular importance.
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: Outlines the rise of sport-sponsoring and the resulting tension between exclusive trademark rights and competition law.
2. Course of investigation: Sets the roadmap for analyzing the importance of branding, ambush marketing, and court decisions regarding event trademarks.
3. The importance of branding: Discusses the financial and communicative role of brands in creating consumer loyalty and market barriers.
4. The event-trademark: Explores the difficulties in protecting event-related names that may lack inherent distinctiveness.
5. Strategic Branding: Analyzes the interplay between trademark law and competition law when brands seek market dominance.
6. Ambush-Marketing: Defines the "free-rider" phenomenon and its role as a counter-strategy to exclusive sponsorship.
7. The World-Cup-Saga: Details the legal disputes in Germany over "Fussball WM 2006" and "WM 2006" across multiple court instances.
8. The european effect: decision of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM): Compares European community trademark approaches with national German jurisprudence.
9. Conclusion: Summarizes the current legal dilemma and the potential need for legislative intervention.
Key Terms
Strategic Branding, Eventmarks, Ambush-Marketing, Trademark Law, Competition Law, FIFA, Fussball WM 2006, Brand Equity, Distinctiveness, Sponsorship, Free Rider, OHIM, Community Trademark, Intellectual Property, Sports Marketing
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this publication?
The paper focuses on the legal challenges and competitive implications of using "eventmarks" (trademarks derived from mega-events) to secure exclusive marketing rights.
What are the primary thematic areas?
The main themes include Strategic Branding, trademark protection for sporting events, the phenomenon of Ambush-Marketing, and the resolution of legal disputes via patent and federal courts.
What is the central research question?
The paper asks how the scope of protection for eventmarks can be defined without violating competition law principles or unfairly restricting market participants.
Which scientific methods are applied?
The author uses a legal-analytical method, examining case law (e.g., Higher Regional Court of Hamburg, Federal Court of Justice, OHIM) and existing literature to evaluate trademark disputes.
What does the main part cover?
It provides a deep dive into the definition of brands, the specific problems of "eventmarks," a historical analysis of World Cup trademark litigation, and a comparison between German national law and European community trademark regulations.
How would you characterize the keywords of the work?
The keywords center on the tension between commercial event exploitation (Branding/Sponsorship) and the legal constraints imposed by trademark and competition regulations.
Why was the "Fussball WM 2006" trademark case chosen as an example?
It serves as a prime illustration of the conflict between an organizer's desire for exclusivity and the public's right to use descriptive terms, highlighting the divergent outcomes in different court rulings.
How does the author view the classification of trading cards as merchandise?
The author criticizes the court's view, arguing that trading cards constitute a distinct product rather than a mere attachment, thus complicating the legal assessment of trademark infringement.
What is the "presumption of validity" mentioned regarding the OHIM?
It refers to the legal principle that a registered Community trademark is assumed valid unless challenged by a counterclaim, which can impact infringement procedures before national courts.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Hannah Schatte (Autor:in), 2009, Strategic branding - The difficulty of the term and trademark "Fußball WM 2006", München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/132387
