FEATURE
LET THE GAMES BEGIN: RIO OLYMPICS AND THE IP MINEFIELD
The opening ceremony in Brazil’s Maracanã Stadium kick-started 17
days of the Olympiad: 10,500 athletes from 206 countries competing across 306 events. Ian Johnson, Head of IP Legal at CPA Global
discusses the legal implications of intellectual property rights at a globally televised event.
Since winning the bid for the Olympic Games in 2009, Rio de Janeiro has worked to make South America’s first Games a success. The government has invested in new stadia and sporting venues, building new transport links including the $8 million elevated cycle path over the sea. In the build up to the event, Olympic organisers expected significant media focus, but were they prepared for the issues surrounding intellectual property (IP) and what this would mean for sponsors and the Olympic brand?
A GIANT LEAP FOR
SPORTING TECHNOLOGY The 2016 Rio Olympics has been
22 | TOMORROW’S FM
the most technologically advanced Olympics to date - embracing digital systems and innovative start-ups to stage a multiscreen, virtual Games. For the first time the Olympic Broadcasting Service (OBS) broadcast high-definition images of the opening ceremony in virtual reality, and will show one event each day in the same way. GPS technology has been implemented in long distance races, allowing fans to follow the canoe sprint and rowing events more closely than ever before. Traditional scoring systems in archery and shooting have been electronically upgraded: target shooting now incorporates laser technology for millimetric precision.
While radio-frequency tags have even been attached to guns so organisers know where each weapon is at any given time.
In 2014 investors spent more than $1 billion in venture deals for sports- related start-ups, representing a massive paradigm shift: sport is no longer a niche market. Sports companies are able to command significant audiences and those audiences equate to valuable companies. IP management and protection plays a key role in enabling sports innovators to continue investing in research and develop more effective technologies for athletes. With the amount of sophisticated technology on show in
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