INDIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Aarushi Jain, Pooja Kapadia and Maya Venkiteswaran, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
There is a growing trend of rights fragmentation in sponsorship deals with an aim to attract mul - tiple sponsors to brand different elements of the sporting event. While the availability of multiple sponsorship rights at different price points is encouraging businesses to secure sponsorship rights for brand visibility and enhancement, it is also adding to competitiveness for key spots such as broadcasting sponsor, jersey sponsor and other rights. These rights are typically sold for big bucks, usually following a bid process (especially in the case of established sports). Sponsorship space will continue to be in demand as unconventional brands tap into this space. Athlete rights Players across sports have achieved stardom, thanks to social media and publicity manage - ment services. This has led to players becom - ing aware of the importance of protecting their personality and image rights. Personalities (eg, an athlete) can restrict unau - thorised usage of their identity to safeguard their right to livelihood and privacy as part of consti - tutional rights. Furthermore, self-regulatory bod - ies such as the Advertising Standards Council of India specifically prohibit using the attributes of any well-known person in such a way that it confers an unjustified advantage on the product advertised without the personality’s consent. Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker was recently caught up in an ambush marketing web. Upon winning two medals, Manu Bhaker’s pictures appeared across different brand advertisements. These brands had used her attributes, without her consent, to cash in on her fame. Bhaker’s team was quick to react to the unauthorised use
of her personality and sent legal notices to these brands. It was a welcome change to see athletes becom - ing cognizant of their rights and taking action against those who violate them. Another wel - come trend is that several athletes are now rep - resented by management agencies who help negotiate fair deals for athletes. The increase in popularity of sports as a sector, better pay scales for athletes, sponsorships and awards, fandom, and incentives, can all be reasons for athletes to take their rights seriously and appoint advisors to protect them. While athletes venture into the world of brand endorsements, it is important for them to know the law on advertising and the dos and don’ts from a legal perspective. It is also important for them to discharge their legal obligations and execute well-balanced and fair agreements. New Tech in Sports: From Reel to Reality The use of technology in sports is now a real - ity. For instance, the use of assistive technology such as 3D printed or tailor-made customised wheelchairs, advanced prosthetics, navigation systems (for vision-impaired runners) etc, aided Indian players to compete at the Paris Paralym - pic Games. Athletes and teams are also increasingly using AI and other technologies to, inter alia, develop personal coaching plans, track health and fitness data of athletes, study player patterns as well as strengths and weaknesses, etc. For example: • the Table Tennis Federation of India collabo - rated with Stupa Sports Analytics to analyse player performance and provide AI-generated insights based on player health and fitness data; and
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