Around 23.5 million tickets were sought in the latest sale for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which takes place in the country in November.
Qatari authorities have announced that five people had been arrested for selling counterfeit World Cup merchandise.
They were detained by Qatar’s cybercrime police “for promoting the sale of clothes bearing the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 logo without obtaining prior approval from FIFA,” according to the interior ministry.
In December 2021, authorities raided a facility that was producing perfume for use in World Cup-branded bottles, but no one was arrested.
FIFA is known for its cease and desist letters. One of its most valuable assets is its Intellectual Property, and the world football governing body will do anything to protect it.
What is intellectual Property?
The term refers to something that a person has either thought of or created. Some type of IP include copyrights, patents, and trademarks. IP belongs to the person who thought it out or put the work into creating it, and they get to decide who makes it, how, and where it’s used.
FIFA’s IP includes the tournament’s official emblem, its official trophy, FIFA’s logo, the FIFA Living Football Claim, and word marks too. Yes, words.
Legally, the words and phrases below also fall under FIFA’s IP:
- FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
- FIFA World Cup
- فيفا وورلد كوب
- FIFA
- فيفا
- World Cup
- كأس العالم
- World Cup 2022
- وورلد كوب 2022
- Copa Mundial
- Coupe Du Monde
- Mundial
- Qatar 2022
- قطر 2022
Additionally, FIFA’s official typeface is also copyrighted.
FIFA’s official IP is protected in both Qatar and other territories around the world by different laws including copyright and trademark.
Only the FIFA Rights Holders have the right to use the football tournament’s official IP for commercial purposes.
Sponsorship analytics firm Hookit estimates that Fifa’s World Cup partners pay between $9 million and $23 million to associate with the showpiece international tournament.
On July 29 2021, the Amir issued the FIFA IP Law No. 11 of 2021 on the Protection of Trademarks, Copyrights and Related Rights of FIFA.
