World Intellectual Property Day 2026

IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate

This year, we celebrate the role that intellectual property plays across the world of sport — from team brands, athlete image rights and sponsorships to product innovation and emerging technologies.

Here are just a few examples of how Multilaw member firms are helping sports-sector clients protect, commercialise and enforce valuable intellectual property rights in a fast-moving global market.

Racing ahead: brand protection in elite motorsport

Penningtons Manches Cooper

UK member firm Penningtons Manches Cooper represents a leading Formula One team on a range of brand protection and enforcement matters. Its work includes managing a valuable global trademark portfolio, initiating a substantial worldwide re-registration programme, and making new filings to support a heritage brand linked to the team’s legacy.

The team has also led enforcement action across multiple jurisdictions, tackling infringements and protecting the team’s intellectual property in key markets. It is a strong example of the increasingly global and high-stakes nature of brand protection in elite motorsport.

 

Changing the game: protecting innovation in sport

Macpherson Kelley

Australian member firm Macpherson Kelley understands the level of innovation required to achieve peak performance, and one of its most rewarding recent matters has been supporting Boob Protect, the business behind a breast shield designed to protect women playing elite and amateur sport.

That work sits alongside a broader sports-sector practice spanning globally recognised brands such as Formula 1 Team WILLIAMS and SKINS, as well as apparel and equipment manufacturers, leagues, teams, racing drivers, golfers, tennis players, AFL coaches and players.

Together, these matters show that sports IP is not only about major international brands. It can also help smaller innovators protect ideas that remove barriers to participation, support performance and make a lasting impact across sport.

 

Innovation and identity: the dual frontiers of IP in sport

Kochhar & Co.

India member firm Kochhar & Co has recently been advising a leading international sportswear brand on a challenge that goes to the heart of sports-sector IP: protecting the visual identity that consumers instantly associate with major brands.

In India’s sportswear market, distinctive stripes, patterns and product configurations can carry as much commercial value as the underlying product design. That has created a complex enforcement landscape, with third-party manufacturers seeking design registrations for features that closely resemble established brand identifiers.

By bringing design cancellation actions based on prior publication and trademark rights, Kochhar & Co has helped challenge opportunistic filings and reinforce the integrity of valuable brand identifiers. The work highlights an important point for the sports sector: protecting innovation means safeguarding not only technical advancement, but also the visual identity that connects products to consumers.

 

Game on: protecting athletes, teams and NIL rights

Miller Nash LLP

Since the 2021 U.S. Supreme Court decision that reshaped college athletics, USA member firm Miller Nash has played a leading role in the name, image and likeness (NIL) landscape.

The team structures and negotiates NIL arrangements, including first-of-their-kind deals that have since been replicated elsewhere, and advises NIL collectives on complex agreements, multi-party negotiations and compliance with NCAA, state and institutional rules.

More broadly, Miller Nash advises collegiate and professional sports teams, athletes and their representatives, and sports-industry businesses across the Pacific Northwest on a wide range of intellectual property matters, including trademarks, copyrights, sponsorships, endorsements and related commercial arrangements.

 

From the pitch to the screen: commercialising sports IP

Millar McCall Wylie

Northern Ireland member firm Millar McCall Wylie has acted for Ulster Rugby on player image rights agreements, helping to structure the exploitation of player likeness, branding and associated IP rights within professional rugby.

It has also advised on sponsorship and brand-related commercial agreements, including shirt sponsorship and stadium naming rights arrangements, and more broadly supports sports organisations and sports-focused businesses on the protection and commercial exploitation of IP at both elite and emerging levels of sport.

More recently, Millar McCall Wylie has advised on investments into sporting organisations and sports-focused businesses, including a Northern Ireland Premiership football club and a digital sports platform, with a focus on IP ownership, brand control and safeguarding value for stakeholders. The firm has also advised on sports-related screen productions, including the feature film Saipan, on rights acquisition, clearance and exploitation.

 

New rules of the game: AI tools for sports and entertainment contracts

Holland & Knight LLP

USA member firm Holland & Knight is advising ArenaDocs, a venture offering AI-powered contract drafting software for sports and entertainment businesses.

The ArenaDocs platform generates contract clauses and draft documents for matters such as sponsorship agreements, venue leases and influencer arrangements. Holland & Knight advises the business on protection of its name, logo and proprietary software, while also helping to connect the company with potential clients and commercial partners.

The work reflects the growing overlap between sport, entertainment and legal technology, and shows how IP protection remains central as new platforms emerge to support the business of sport.