Intellectual Property and Global Sports: Forging a Shared Future

As the global sports industry flourishes, intellectual property has become the core driving force propelling the industry forward. From a global perspective, this article focuses on the development of patents in the sports industry, trademark and brand protection, sports event copyright operations, and the management systems of international organizations, showcasing the exciting synergy and shared future between IP and the sports industry.

From the pinnacle of competition at the Olympic Games to a hike in the mountains, or a casual ball game on the street – sports carry the collective memories and emotions of humanity, profoundly shaping cultures, health, and social life around the world. In today's era of digitalization and globalization, a thrilling match can instantly spread across the globe, and a moment of fierce competition can closely connect people from different countries and backgrounds. Intellectual property serves as the indispensable institutional safeguard and commercial foundation behind this connection. The 2026 World Intellectual Property Day theme – “IP and Sports: On Your Marks, Get Set, Innovate!” – profoundly highlights the important trend of IP acting as the core driving force behind the development of the global sports industry. From patented technologies to digital assets, from event copyrights to brand trademarks, IP is reshaping the new landscape of the sports economy.

A joint report released in January 2026 by the World Economic Forum and Oliver Wyman, titled Developing the Sports Economy for the Benefit of People and the Planet, shows that the global sports economy generates a total of US$2.3 trillion in revenue annually. It is expected to reach an industry size of US$3.7 trillion by 2030, and further grow to US$8.8 trillion by 2050. Within the value chain of the sports economy, intellectual property plays a crucial role. Patents, trademarks, and sports event copyrights owned by sports brands have become highly valuable core assets in the global sports industry.

In the sporting goods sector, patents and trademarks form the core competitiveness of brands. Many European sports brands, leveraging deep technological expertise and IP portfolios, hold dominant positions in the global market. Germany's Adidas holds thousands of patents, from Boost cushioning technology to Primeknit digital weaving, continuously leading innovation in sports technology, and its “three stripes” trademark is one of the most recognized brand identifiers worldwide. Italy's Lotto possesses a unique patent portfolio in tennis shoe cushioning technology and sole structures. The UK's Umbro holds core patents in football boot fabrics and ergonomic design, providing technical guarantees for professional athletes. Emerging British brand Castore, with its high-performance fabric patents and “light luxury sport” positioning, has quickly carved out a niche in the high-end sports market.

At the brand strategy level, European brands also demonstrate the wisdom of IP operations. Adidas has built a powerful brand “moat” through global trademark enforcement actions, while turning classic shoe models like Superstar and Stan Smith into cultural icons, continuously refreshing them through cross-industry collaborations. Italy's Kappa, representing a sporty, youthful, and passionate lifestyle, is known worldwide for its highly recognizable logo – a boy and a girl sitting back-to-back. The brand has successfully shaped an image blending athletic genes with trendy aesthetics, expanding from professional sports into the fashion world. Through the synergy of patent technology and trademark strategy, these European brands continue to consolidate their leading positions in the global sporting goods market.

The rise of South Korean sports brands also confirms the strategic value of patents and trademarks. South Korea's GTS GLOBAL started with ultra-lightweight water shoes and has built an IP portfolio of over 100 rights, including inventions, utility models, design patents, and trademarks. South Korean sportswear brand HDEX began as a small online fitness brand, and through precise brand positioning and trademark strategy, developed within a few years into a benchmark for Korean sportswear that combines professionalism and fashion, enhancing brand awareness through event sponsorships and collaborations with professional athletes.

With the surge in broadcasting platforms and services for live sports events and surrounding content, the copyright trading market is becoming increasingly large and complex. The value of sports event broadcasting rights holds an irreplaceable position in the global sports industry.

Europe's top five football leagues, as the world's most commercially valuable sports event matrix, offer a copyright operation model worth emulating. Currently, NBC holds the exclusive broadcasting rights for the English Premier League (EPL) in the United States under a six-year contract worth US$450 million per season. In the Chinese market, China Mobile Migu has secured exclusive new media rights to the EPL for the 2025/26 to 2027/28 broadcast cycle at an average annual price of nearly US$60 million, with the total value of the three-year contract expected to exceed US$170 million. Additionally, the EPL plans to bring its overseas media business in-house, establishing a self-distribution system similar to a “sports streaming platform” to further strengthen its control over copyrights. The National Basketball Association (NBA), on the other hand, has pursued a path of “globalization + digitalization” in copyright operations. NBA international television broadcasts reach over 200 countries and regions. Moreover, the NBA has turned its event IP into a global cultural phenomenon integrating sports, entertainment, fashion, and technology, extending the NBA's IP from the “court” into every corner of life.

Strong legal protection is the cornerstone of a healthy sports industry. Countries are actively building legal frameworks for sports IP protection. In April 2025, Paraguay enacted Law No. 7467/2025, establishing a special IP protection mechanism for international sports events held in the country. The law stipulates that event-related trademarks automatically receive well-known trademark protection during the event period, with protection extending for one year after the event concludes. It also prohibits unauthorized commercial activities within 2 kilometers of official venues that attempt to associate products or services with the event, providing a model worthy of reference for sports IP protection. At the legislative level, the European Union is promoting the Digital Single Market Copyright Directive and exploring the creation of a neighboring right for sports event organizers, thereby fundamentally strengthening IP protection.

Today, the global sports economy is in the midst of digital, global, and intelligent transformation. Intellectual property is not merely a protective tool, but a strategic asset that drives innovation, builds brands, and creates value. Only with a more open vision, more robust systems, and more innovative thinking can we enable IP to accelerate on the sports track and embrace a brilliant future shared by sports and IP.

The Olympic Games

As one of the world's most influential sports IP holders, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is a model of sports IP operation. The Olympic rings, motto, emblems, mascots, torch, event names, and other IP elements are fully protected through trademark registration, copyright registration, design patents, domain name protection, and more.

On the commercial operation front, the Olympic Partner (TOP) program adopts an industry-exclusive authorization model, with each four-year cycle granting members the right to use global Olympic IP and exclusive marketing rights. TOP sponsors, by obtaining authorization to use Olympic IP, enjoy exclusive global marketing rights within their respective industries. In terms of revenue distribution, the IOC retains only 10% for its own administrative costs, while the remaining 90% is redistributed to organizations within the Olympic Movement to support athlete development, event preparation, and global sports promotion.

In December 2025, the IOC Executive Board proposed amendments to the Olympic Charter, further defining the definition and design standards of pins, strengthening brand protection, and explicitly classifying mascots as Olympic assets, demonstrating the continuous improvement of IP management systems. From trademark registration and domain name protection during the host city selection phase, to licensing agreements between organizing committees and sponsors, and strict management during the events, the IOC has built a comprehensive IP management system that runs through the entire Olympic cycle, providing a textbook example for IP protection at major global sporting events.

National Basketball Association (NBA)

The NBA continues to break new ground in digital innovation within the sports industry, setting benchmarks in digital assets and event IP operations. NBA international television broadcasts reach over 200 countries and regions, with more than 1 billion overseas fans. The names and logos of the NBA and its 30 teams are all protected by registration. In the digital asset space, the NBA actively promotes the commercialization of its IP in areas such as trading cards, gaming devices, and digital experiences. Its official digital collectibles platform, “NBA Top Shot,” launched in partnership with Dapper Labs, turns classic game highlights into collectible and tradable digital assets. The NBA has also partnered with Meta to create a “Virtual NBA Experience” zone in the metaverse, and launched an upgraded “NBA League Pass” digital subscription service featuring AI-powered highlights, multi-angle viewing, and other functions.

Beyond the regular season and playoffs, the NBA continues to promote “international event IP,” collaborating with Netflix to produce documentaries blending basketball stories with human emotion, partnering with fashion brands to launch co-branded apparel integrating basketball culture into trendy consumption, and creating official accounts on platforms like TikTok and YouTube to attract younger audiences through short-form video content. The NBA's practices show that sports IP operations have long surpassed the events themselves, becoming a global cultural phenomenon integrating sports, entertainment, fashion, and technology, while innovations in digital assets have opened up new spaces for the realization of sports IP value.

Europe's Top Five Football Leagues

Europe's top five football leagues – the English Premier League (EPL), Spanish La Liga, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, and French Ligue 1 – are the most influential professional football competitions globally. They have built an IP system featuring refined copyright distribution, comprehensive brand protection, and global commercial operations.

The Premier League has already signed agreements with dozens of countries and regions for live audio-visual copyrights for the 2025/26 to 2027/28 seasons, establishing a global copyright distribution network covering Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. The Bundesliga, through streaming platforms and multi-language operations, achieves seamless reach to diverse groups in multiple countries, with its international media copyright revenue continuing to grow. La Liga, Serie A, and Ligue 1 adopt strategies based on market characteristics, including exclusive authorizations and diversified distribution, partnering with streaming platforms to expand digital distribution channels and adapt to the viewing habits of younger audiences. Additionally, the top five leagues have established a trademark protection system combining league coordination, club collaboration, and global enforcement, along with comprehensive anti-piracy and copyright protection mechanisms. Through refined copyright operations and strict brand protection, the top five leagues have not only achieved sustained commercial revenue growth but also created world-class football IPs, providing important references for global professional sports event IP operations and driving the football industry to become a core pillar of the global sports economy.

The FIFA World Cup

FIFA, as a global model of sports IP operation, has built an IP system around the World Cup covering all elements such as emblems, mascots, and official slogans. Its brand assets are strictly protected globally by trademarks, copyrights, and related laws.

On the commercial operation front, FIFA has established a tiered sponsorship system covering global partners, World Cup sponsors, and regional supporters. For the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, all global sponsor slots have been sold out, including brands such as Adidas, Hyundai, and Anheuser-Busch InBev, expected to generate the highest sponsorship revenue in the history of a single sporting event. In copyright operations, the 2026 World Cup expands to 48 teams and 104 matches, driving up the value of broadcasting rights. Copyright revenue during the event is expected to exceed US$4.2 billion.

FIFA has established a strict anti-piracy and enforcement system globally, adopting a zero-tolerance approach to unauthorized use of official marks. In host countries, through trademark laws, copyright laws, and “clean zone” systems around venues that restrict unauthorized commercial activities, FIFA strictly limits unlicensed commercial activities. From trademark registration to real-time infringement monitoring during the event, FIFA has built a comprehensive IP management system throughout the World Cup cycle, providing a model for IP protection and commercial operation of major global events.