The 2003 Rugby World Cup: Player Image as Intellectual Property

International sporting events such as the Olympic Games,World Cup Soccer, World Cup Cricket and the Rugby Union World Cup are big business. They present an international showcase for particular sports and individual participants. However an issue that is often managed poorly by the administrators an...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sadler, Pauline, Yorke, Cameron
Format: Journal Article
Published: Curtin University of Technology 2003
Online Access:http://www.cbs.curtin.edu.au/index.cfm?objectId=08D4C60E-02BB-7973-2FEA251388A8C072
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/21168
_version_ 1848750514675646464
author Sadler, Pauline
Yorke, Cameron
author_facet Sadler, Pauline
Yorke, Cameron
author_sort Sadler, Pauline
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description International sporting events such as the Olympic Games,World Cup Soccer, World Cup Cricket and the Rugby Union World Cup are big business. They present an international showcase for particular sports and individual participants. However an issue that is often managed poorly by the administrators and organisers is the intellectual property rights of the participants. This is particularly evident where the administrators and organisers attempt to prevent ambush marketing through the use of player image. This paper examines the use of player image in the context of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and, in particular, the terms of the contentious 'participation agreement' that each player had to sign before being able to compete. The provision of some background information about the Rugby World Cup,leads to discussion of ambush marketing in sport is discussed, and examines the legal rights of players to make economic use of their own persona, or image, as they choose, a feature known as 'character merchandising'. A discussion of the effect of 'restraint of trade' clauses in employment contracts leads to a series of recommendations. Discuss some recommended strategies that aim to satisfy all parties and prevent the use of player image as a method of ambush marketing.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T07:38:03Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-21168
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T07:38:03Z
publishDate 2003
publisher Curtin University of Technology
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-211682017-01-30T12:23:39Z The 2003 Rugby World Cup: Player Image as Intellectual Property Sadler, Pauline Yorke, Cameron International sporting events such as the Olympic Games,World Cup Soccer, World Cup Cricket and the Rugby Union World Cup are big business. They present an international showcase for particular sports and individual participants. However an issue that is often managed poorly by the administrators and organisers is the intellectual property rights of the participants. This is particularly evident where the administrators and organisers attempt to prevent ambush marketing through the use of player image. This paper examines the use of player image in the context of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and, in particular, the terms of the contentious 'participation agreement' that each player had to sign before being able to compete. The provision of some background information about the Rugby World Cup,leads to discussion of ambush marketing in sport is discussed, and examines the legal rights of players to make economic use of their own persona, or image, as they choose, a feature known as 'character merchandising'. A discussion of the effect of 'restraint of trade' clauses in employment contracts leads to a series of recommendations. Discuss some recommended strategies that aim to satisfy all parties and prevent the use of player image as a method of ambush marketing. 2003 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/21168 http://www.cbs.curtin.edu.au/index.cfm?objectId=08D4C60E-02BB-7973-2FEA251388A8C072 Curtin University of Technology fulltext
spellingShingle Sadler, Pauline
Yorke, Cameron
The 2003 Rugby World Cup: Player Image as Intellectual Property
title The 2003 Rugby World Cup: Player Image as Intellectual Property
title_full The 2003 Rugby World Cup: Player Image as Intellectual Property
title_fullStr The 2003 Rugby World Cup: Player Image as Intellectual Property
title_full_unstemmed The 2003 Rugby World Cup: Player Image as Intellectual Property
title_short The 2003 Rugby World Cup: Player Image as Intellectual Property
title_sort 2003 rugby world cup: player image as intellectual property
url http://www.cbs.curtin.edu.au/index.cfm?objectId=08D4C60E-02BB-7973-2FEA251388A8C072
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/21168