The Indian Premier League (IPL) has issued a public advisory notice where it describes appropriate usage guidelines for third parties with respect to the BCCI-IPL’s proprietary trademarks, tradenames and matchplay footage.
IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi says that attempts at ambush marketing have been noticed. “We have noticed a large and growing number of violations of IPL intellectual property rights and believe that it is important for us to issue this public guidance document. There seems to be a presumption among third parties that the BCCI-IPL’s proprietary names, marks and contents can be used for various commercial purposes without permission of the BCCI-IPL.
"This document has been issued to correct any such misconceptions. We are committed to protecting the IPL brand from dilution and damage and will do all things necessary to safeguard the large investments that our sponsors, partners and broadcasters have made to make the event possible.
"We will assert our rights against all infringers and will not allow any attempt at ambush marketing to succeed. At the same time, we hope and believe that the issuance of this document will clarify the legal position on a number of matters."
