SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Karl Ole Möller, Nordia Law
4.4 Recent Deals/Trends Investor interest in the Swedish sports sector is mainly focused on individual top athletes. Investments from private equity firms, venture capital funds and other investment institutions in professional elite teams are still rare, due to the restricted control of the club by its mem - bers. However, the growing number of sports tech start-ups is attracting investors from these groups. There are currently about 170 sports tech start-ups in Sweden. The Scandinavian sports equipment retail market has seen significant growth, with total revenues reaching EUR4.57 billion in 2020. This growth is driven by factors such as population and eco - nomic growth, as well as an increasing number of people attending fitness clubs. A notable deal is Accent Equity’s Investment in Unisport, where Accent Equity acquired the Indoor Division of Unisport-Saltex, which specialises in indoor sports facilities and equipment. 5. Intellectual Property, Data and Data Protection 5.1 Trade Marks Many stakeholders within the Swedish sports sector (including individual top athletes) seek trade mark protection. Sweden has domestic protection through the Trademarks Act and has also implemented the EU Trademark Directives and adopted the Madrid Protocol. EU trade marks are recognised in Sweden, as well as international trade mark registrations adminis - tered by the World Intellectual Property Organi - sation (the “WIPO” ), designating Sweden. Trade marks are registered by the Swedish Pat - ent and Registration Office and the protection applies for ten years. Renewal can be made for
an unlimited number of consecutive ten-year periods. The owner of the mark can bring an action against anyone making unauthorised use of the mark. Trade marks may consist of words, signatures, symbols, patterns, etc, pro - vided that the signs are distinctive. Descriptive terms, generic terms or confusing marks cannot be registered. A trade mark may be assigned or licensed. One notable case in the sports industry is the trade mark dispute between the SvFF and a local sports club over the use of similar logos. The SvFF successfully defended its trade mark rights, ensuring that their brand remained dis - tinct and protected. 5.2 Copyright/Database Rights No particular form of copyright covers sports events specifically and an athlete’s performance during the event would not be protectable in itself. However, the provisions of the Copy - right Act may be applied anyway. Any record - ing (sound, visual and audiovisual recordings), broadcast and footage of the performance may be protectable under the Copyright Act. The Copyright Act protects the expression of an orig - inal work (for example, broadcasts and sound recordings) for a period of between 50 and 70 years. The protection will arise automatically on the expression of the work. The Copyright Act also provides protection for the compilation and use of sports databases for commercial reasons. To receive protection, certain conditions must be fulfilled (such as a substantial investment in the obtaining, verifying or presentation of the contents of the database).
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