Intellectual property lawyer for sport
Marks, images and rights with commercial value
Much of the value in sport sits in signs and images. A club crest, the name of a competition, the portrait of an athlete, the footage of a match: each of these is a right that you can register, licence and defend. If you do not secure them in time, you lose them in practice to a competitor, a sponsor or a producer of supporter merchandise.
Everest Sports Law advises clubs, federations, athletes, sponsors and organisers on the protection and the commercial use of their intellectual property. We work from Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp and Hasselt on Belgian and Benelux files. We also handle international matters, from filings at the EUIPO and WIPO to broadcasting disputes that reach beyond a single country.
What an intellectual property lawyer for sport does for you
We act early, when you build a portfolio, and we act in a dispute that is already running.
Trade marks and logos
We clear your sign and file it with the BOIP for the Benelux or with the EUIPO for the European Union. We oppose later applications and we act against counterfeit kit and counterfeit supporter merchandise.
Athlete image rights
An athlete decides on the commercial use of his or her own image. We draft image agreements with sponsors, clubs and federations, set the limits of the collective rights of the club and act when a portrait is used without consent.
Broadcasting and media rights
We negotiate and draft contracts for the sale of match footage: exclusivity by territory and by platform, short extracts for news reports, rights in archive material. We also act against illegal streams and unauthorised clips.
Ambush marketing
A company that is not a sponsor but still rides on a tournament can be stopped. We build the file on trade mark law and market practices, send a formal notice and, where needed, ask the enterprise court for an injunction.
Naming rights and sponsorship
We draft agreements on the name of a stadium, a competition or a team. We settle the use of the mark, the exclusivity, the term, the effect of relegation and the way the deal unwinds when a sponsor leaves.
Licences, merchandising and domain names
We draft licence and merchandising agreements with royalties, quality control and territorial limits. We recover domain names that take over your mark or your club name, through the DNS Belgium procedure or the UDRP at WIPO.
Enforcement and cease-and-desist
A right that you never enforce loses its value. We send a formal notice, negotiate a settlement and, where that fails, start proceedings to stop the use and to claim damages. In urgent matters we ask the court for an injunction, so that an infringing campaign or an unauthorised run of merchandise leaves the market while the case continues. We also act on the other side, for clients who receive such a claim and consider it too wide.
How a file runs
Who decides
In Belgium trade mark disputes go to the enterprise court, and to Brussels for EU trade marks. Oppositions run at the BOIP or the EUIPO. A .be domain name goes to CEPANI. Sponsorship contracts often name arbitration.
Deadlines
An opposition against a trade mark application must be filed within two months of publication. A cease and desist action follows summary proceedings and often gives a decision within a few weeks. Before an event every day counts, so warn us early.
What you do first
Secure the evidence: dated screenshots, photographs of the products, proof of purchase, the address online. Gather your registrations, licences and contracts. Contact us before you send a formal notice yourself, because that notice sets the tone of the file.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I register my club logo?
With the BOIP for the Benelux, or with the EUIPO for the whole European Union. Clear the sign before you launch, then register it for the classes you actually use. Registering only after the logo is known costs more and carries the risk that somebody else was quicker. Watch the renewal dates afterwards, because a trade mark has to be renewed.
Within what period can I oppose a trade mark application?
Within two months of publication of the application. Oppositions run at the BOIP or at the EUIPO, depending on where the sign was filed. The trade mark disputes themselves go to the enterprise court in Belgium, and to Brussels for EU trade marks.
Who owns the photographs our photographer takes for the club?
The photographer, as long as nothing else is agreed. The same holds for a designer or a video maker. Set out in writing in every assignment which rights pass, for what use and for how long. Without that clause you pay twice for the same image.
May our club use a player’s image for a sponsor?
Only with express consent, limited in purpose and in time. An athlete decides on the commercial use of his own image. Arrange it in the player contract rather than campaign by campaign afterwards, and mark out exactly what the collective rights of the club cover.
Somebody is using our club name as a domain name. What can I do?
You can recover the domain name. For a .be name that runs through the DNS Belgium procedure, and those disputes go to CEPANI. For other extensions the UDRP procedure at WIPO is available. Secure the evidence first: dated screenshots, the address online and proof of purchase.