2021
Every Tuesday and Friday,
WTR presents a round-up of news, developments and insights from across the trademark sphere. In our latest round-up, we look at GoDaddy increasing its TLD portfolio with the acquisition of ‘.club’ and ‘.design’, Timberland’s trade dress getting the boot, the Peruvian IP office warning political parties to respect intellectual property, and much more. Coverage this time from Victoria Arnold (VA), Bridget Diakun (BD) and Tim Lince (TJL).
Market radar:
FIFA generated more money from licensing rights than from football in 2020 – FIFA’s 2020 financial statements reveal that $158.9 million of its $266.5 million total revenue for the year came from licensing rights. It is the first time that the association has made more from licensing than football activities and reflects not only the impact of the pandemic, but the resilience of, and growth in, the video game industry. “A key source of revenue in the licensing rights area was brand licensing for video games,” FIFA explained. The football body has expanded into virtual sports to better engage with video gaming communities. FIFA president Gianni Infantino said that the association was “seizing the opportunities of a changing landscape of technology, society and sport”. The significant contribution of brand licensing to FIFA’s revenue is a reminder of how actively monetising IP assets can have serious pay-off, even at a time when other revenue streams have dried up.