London, United Kingdom-The World Intellectual Property Day was celebrated last April 26, 2026 with the theme ‘IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate.’
In 2000, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) member states designated April 26-the day on which the WIPO Convention came into force in 1970-as World Intellectual Property Day with the aim of increasing the general understanding of intellectual property (IP).
The WIPO is the United Nations agency that serves the world’s innovators and creators, ensuring that their ideas travel safely to the market and improve lives everywhere.
World IP Day offers a unique opportunity to join with others around the world to consider how a balanced IP system helps the global arts scene to flourish and enables the technological innovation that drives human progress.
WIPO noted that ‘Sports aren’t just about the game-they intersect with fashion, entertainment, media, health, gaming and consumer goods.’
IP such as patents, designs, trademarks, and copyrights, incentivizes innovation and enables cross-industry connections with sports, sparking creativity, technological advancement and economic growth.
World IP Day 2026 celebrates how creativity and innovation, backed by IP rights, keep the world of sports thriving, dynamic and accessible for everyone, everywhere.
Patents encourage technological advances that result in better sporting equipment. From the sports shoe to the swimsuit and the tennis racket to the football, sports technologists have applied their ingenuity, creativity and expertise to develop better and safer equipment in the quest for sporting excellence.
Trademarks, brands and designs contribute to the distinct identity of events, teams and their gear. Brands are critical for creating business value, and the sports business is no exception. Strong brands command customer loyalty and premium prices, constituting valuable assets that drive company revenue and growth. Copyright-related rights generate the revenues needed for broadcasters to invest in the costly undertaking of broadcasting sports events to fans worldwide.
IP rights are the basis of licensing and merchandising agreements that earn revenues to support the development of the sports industry.
I attended a briefing by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) IP team during the recent 2026 annual meeting of the International Trademark Association (INTA) held in London, United Kingdom from May 2 to 6, 2026. INTA is a global, non-profit member organization of brand owners and intellectual property (IP) professionals. Based in New York, it supports trademark development, advocates for policy changes, provides education, and hosts major industry events, including an annual meeting with over 10,000 participants.
The symbols of the Olympic Games are of inestimable value, symbolizing spirit, unity, and athletic excellence on a global stage.
The Olympic Properties refer to the Olympic symbol, flag, motto, anthem, identifications (including ‘Olympic’ or ‘Olympic Games’), and any musical, audio-visual or creative works created in connection with the Olympic Games. The Olympic Properties benefit from extensive legal protection as they are vital to securing the financial sustainability essential for hosting the events.
The Olympic Properties are protected internationally by IP rights, such as registered designs, copyright, trademarks and other rights protecting intangible assets linked to the Olympic Games.
The IOC is a non-profit organization that uses the revenue generated from the exploitation of the IP rights associated with the Olympic Games to assist athletes and develop sports worldwide and to organize the Olympic Games.
Protecting the integrity of the Olympic Properties is crucial to the viability of the Olympic Movement. Otherwise, the IOC’s ability to generate revenue would be in jeopardy and, consequently, the IOC’s and the corresponding National Olympic Committees’ support to the sports world would be compromised.
The trademarks benefit from a broader protection including against the use of goods and services that are not similar to the goods or services for which they are protected, if such use, without due cause, takes unfair advantage of, or is detrimental to, the distinctive character, the repute, or notoriety of the prior trademarks.
This includes ambush marketing, which is an ‘advertising strategy established by a company in order to associate its commercial image with an event and therefore to take advantage of the media impact of this event without paying the related rights and without having obtained prior authorization from the event organizer.’