The games have already started at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil
and merchandising products bearing the names of players, national
teams, "Brazil 2014", "WORLD CUP 2014" are
being sold everywhere. These are protected trade marks. The
issuethat arises is the following: how do commercial parties sell
products bearing protected trade marks when they are not the owner
or licensee of any right in those trade marks?
It is not an understatement to say that FIFA generates much of
its income from corporate sponsors and licensees. For this
year's World Cup in Brazil, the official partners of FIFA
include Adidas, Emirates, Coca-Cola, Sony and Visa. Exclusive
sponsorships have become very lucrative over the years. For
example, FIFA's financial report for the year 2013 indicates
that the second biggest source of income was the sale of marketing
rights worth USD 413 million, of which USD 404 million was
generated in connection with the 2014 FIFA World
CupTM!
