Sports Law in India
India is famous for many things, majorly its cultural heterogenity; however, of late its sports industry is taking the central ground. While India does not have specific legislations for sports law, it consists of an amalgamation of various different kinds of laws that affect athletes. Today, the sports industry is heavily dependent on intellectual property laws and cannot exist without the same. Every sport showcases some form of innovation and creativity. Without IP rights (especially, trademark, patents and broadcasting rights), sports law cannot become a commercially productive asset. Without the existence of patent protection, technological advancement would not have been encouraged, and we would not have visualised today’s improved athletic equipment. Teams, leagues, manufacturers and so on are protected under the umbrella of our trademark laws. Licensing and merchandising agreements provide the funds needed to support the sports authority's development.
There is no specific legislation in place for sports law in India yet. Majorly, it is covered under the Contracts Act, as it involves the player and the team they are signed under. However, sports law may also include the following issues -
1. Doping Policies
2. Harassment
3. Law of Tort
4. Endorsement of Players
5. Injuries
Sports law also includes the implementation of intellectual property rights, and it generates two broad segments of rights that co-exist, as listed down below.
Often called media rights, these rights under sports law are negotiated by the broadcasting organization for a commercial purpose. For example, this will include a sports-governing body or a film distributor, to show that company’s products on television or radio, either live, delayed or highlights. Royalties earned by broadcasters from the sale of exclusive content to other media sources allow them to invest in the costly organisational and technical infrastructure required to broadcast sporting events to millions of fans across the world. According to WIPO, broadcasters have the exclusive protections for 20 years to authorise airing reruns, "fixation" (recording), reproduction, and public communication of their broadcasts under the 1961 International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms, and Broadcasting Organizations (Rome Convention). However, everyone agrees that the protection of broadcasters' rights needs to be updated in order to keep up with the digital communications revolution.
Broadcasting rights include
I. Safeguard costly investments in televising sporting events.
II. Recognize and reward the entrepreneurial efforts of broadcasting organizations
III. Recognize and reward their contribution to diffusion of information and culture.
A person's personality rights is his or her right to control his or her own personality. This branch of sports law allows the personality to be protected as a person's property or under the right to privacy. Personality rights are divided into two categories: the Right to Privacy and the Right to Publicity.
I. Right to Privacy - Celebrities, including sports personalities, try to keep their personal lives and details as private as possible in order to avoid embarrassment in the public eye. The Constitution of India, under article 21, also recognizes the Right to Privacy as a Fundamental Right. Anyone (including celebrities and sports personalities) may also find this recourse in an action of invasion of privacy. This often comes in handy in their lives, since their personal details often get leaked and endangers them.
II. Right to Publicity - Publicity rights are the rights to utilise the value of a celebrity's popularity. In this light, it is important to note that their fame, or popularity, is a strategy for increasing sales.
In India, the Supreme Court has laid down the following with regard to publicity rights in India:
It arose from the right to privacy and can only exist in an individual or any indicia of his or her individuality, such as his or her name, personality attribute, signature, voice, and so on. An individual may have the right of notoriety as a result of his involvement in a particular event, sport, or film. That right, however, does not belong to the event that made the individual famous, nor does it belong to the corporation that organised the event. Any attempt to transfer the right of publicity from individuals to the event organizer/non-human organisation would be in violation of Articles 19 and 21 of the Indian Constitution, which states that no persona can be monopolised. A person's 'right of publicity' belongs to him alone, and he is the only one who can profit from it. If someone used Kapil Dev's or Sachin Tendulkar's name, persona, or indicia in relation to the World Cup without their permission, they would have a viable and enforceable cause of action.
While there are various authorities for sports in India, like SAI (Sports Authority India), National Sports Federation, Governing bodies of team sports like BCCI, Indian hockey Federation and so on, it is the Ministry of Youth Affair and Sports who formulates certain policies that ensure the regulation of sports in India.
Some common uses of IPR in sports
● Patent: Innovation in sports is the main factor that contributes to its growth and popularity among the masses. Innovative technologies protected by patents are taking sports to a whole new level. Smart sensors in sporting equipment enable athletes to track their performance, high-grade Wi-Fi networks in the stadium ensure fans are connected at all times leading to an improved fan experience, and newer technologies are helping athletes with disabilities hit record-breaking performances.
● Design: Aesthetics play a crucial role in sports. In a competitive sporting environment, the design gives a distinct identity to a sporting event, team or gear. It adds commercial value to the sport by appealing to the consumers by making the sport more attractive.
● Trademark and branding: A trademark is a sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one organization from those of others. It can help businesses to build a reputation and become distinctive from their counterparts. They are an important marketing tool and can help generate significant revenue for the business. For instance, Manchester United, a football club, generates a large portion of their revenue through sponsorship deals and merchandise sales. It is only possible because of the loyalty of their fans and the power of the brand Manchester United.
Fashion Law in India
Fashion law, often known as apparel law, is a developing legal field that encompasses all aspects of a garment's product lifecycle, from design to brand security.
An exponentially growing industry, the fashion world protects its creations under the ambit of fashion law that includes various IP laws, like Trademark, Copyright, Design, Patents, and so on. Innovation and new ideas are the key aspects of fashion law, and hence IP protection and rights in the creation and marketing of products in the fashion industry is extremely important.
The owners of intellectual property earn money by licencing and assigning their products to third parties and collecting royalties. Licensing in fashion law improves the market's commercialization of intellectual property.
Copyright is a legal term that refers to the protection of unique literary or creative works. It focuses on the creative aspect of fashion design and excludes the physical utility. The design of the product, such as a print pattern, can be copyrighted, but the article of clothing cannot.
The particular provision governing copyright in designs registered or capable of being registered under the Designs Act, 2000 is defined in section 15 of the Copyright Act (5). Under this Act, copyright does not exist in any design that has been registered under the Design Act of 2000. This provision makes it apparent that Copyright and Design are intertwined.
The fashion industry is a design, and as previously said, fashion design is dependable and suitable to Copyright Law protection. Fashion design is a unique artistic work that can be registered under the Design Act of 2000, but it does not receive protection under the Design Act of 2000; nonetheless, the design does receive protection under the Copyright Act of 2000. From the date of registration, the design is protected under the Copyright for a term of ten years.
Signs, logos, quotes, and symbols are all trademarked, and they are referred to as fashion brands. In the fashion sector, brands are extremely essential, and because fashion patents are difficult to get, fashion corporations will go to considerable measures to preserve their brands, opting instead for trademark protection. Application of the trademark laws in the fashion industry are in high demand. Its focuses on three main things:
- It has to seem attractive enough to catch a consumer’s attention
- Being the owner of a particular trademark is beneficial to any business while getting revenues
- A trademark gives one a competitive advantage over the rest of the businesses in the market.
To capture consumers' attention in a crowded market, trademark owners must create products or goods in a unique style or sell their products in a variety of ways. They must register their items under trademark law in order to protect the brand, image, logo, and sign of their products or goods.
A creation must be valuable, unique, and innovative in order to be patented. Because artistic creations are not able to be copyrighted, patents may not immediately come to mind while discussing the fashion sector. Because fashion trends change frequently, obtaining a patent is not worthwhile, and patents can be prohibitively expensive unless a design can be duplicated year after year. Fashion patents grant creators sole legal ownership of their work. A corporation or creator can safeguard its intellectual property rights by getting a patent on a novel creation.
Per the fashion industry, the design act does not cover entire garments; rather, it protects the product's design, shape, colour, and pattern. Under the Design Act of 2000, the design should be registered. The Copyright Act protects both registered and unregistered designs, as well as the rights of the design owner. The act's primary goal is to safeguard works from invasions of privacy. The Act does not protect unregistered designs, and no one can sue for damages based on an unregistered design. The fashion industry relies on designs to visualise its products in the marketplace.
As the fashion industry evolves, the need for newer and better laws grows alongside. India is far behind when it comes to regulating fashion, in comparison to countries like France or USA. The rise of social media and online shopping has led to a greater need for more comprehensive fashion laws. While it still remains a niche area, amendments can be made in the current laws to regulate fashion in a more extensive manner
