[Trademark] To those in the sports industry

Introduction

Of course, watching sports is fun, but experiencing it yourself is also fun.

Driven by the growing health consciousness among consumers, there has been a recent boom in jogging, and trekking among the middle-aged and elderly. Going to the gym has also become commonplace.

Furthermore, the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in 2020. The sports industry is expected to become even more vibrant.

”HARAKENZO ^more " has created this page to support those in the sports industry and to let them know about the designated goods and services that are necessary when filing a trademark registration application.

Designated goods/services in the sports industry

Although there are various definitions and classifications of the sports industry, we will broadly divide it into three categories: "sporting goods industry," "sports service provider business," and "sports entertainment industry." We will explain, including our suggestions, what designated goods and services should be described.

Sporting Goods Industry

The sporting goods industry refers to a group of industries including manufacturing, wholesale, and retail.

When we talk about sports equipment, it used to refer to specialized items such as athletic shoes and training wear.

However, as sports manufacturers signed contracts with star athletes, sportswear began to transform into fashion brands that could be worn on the streets.

Furthermore, with the recent advancement of information and communication devices, some sports manufacturers are now providing services that accumulate data such as mileage and heart rate by embedding chips in sports shoes or clothing, linking them to smartphones.

Changes are also occurring in the distribution of goods. Until now, manufacturers manufactured goods, which were then sold by retailers via wholesalers, but recently, manufacturers themselves have begun to operate their own directly managed stores and are increasing the number of these stores. This type of business model is likely to become more common in the future, as it eliminates unnecessary middleman margins and makes it possible to centrally manage inventory using computers.

Sports service provider

A sports service provision business is a business that primarily involves the maintenance and management of sports facilities, such as fitness clubs and golf driving ranges.

Although the main business of this business was originally the maintenance and management of the facilities, it has recently become common to see athletes receiving one-on-one instruction from a dedicated trainer. In addition, the business is expanding into other areas, such as teaching training methods and nutritional knowledge, holding various study sessions, and selling nutritional supplements such as protein and vitamins to be taken after training.

Sports Entertainment Industry

The sports entertainment industry refers to the management of professional sports and the hosting of sporting events.

As an example of the changes in the professional sports industry, let's take a look at professional baseball. In the past, the main sources of income were tickets and broadcasting fees. However, with the withdrawal of terrestrial broadcasting, the sources of income have been changing.

In recent years, thanks to the excellent ideas of baseball teams, there are many excellent designs for popular player or support goods, and sales are booming. For some baseball teams, the revenue from sales accounts for one-third of the total sales of the team, making it an important source of income.

As part of their efforts to become more involved in the local community, many teams are now running baseball academies and cheerleading schools for children.

In the world of sporting events, many different marathons are being held due to the increase in amateur runners. Organizations hosting these events have a strong need to obtain trademark rights in order to prevent the sale of official merchandise and unauthorized use by third parties, as well as freeloading.

To everyone who manufactures products overseas

In order to reduce manufacturing costs, many companies manufacture clothing and shoes overseas and import them for sale in Japan. If you manufacture clothing or shoes overseas and affix a trademark to them, it goes without saying that you will need to register the trademark in Japan when importing them to Japan, but it is important to note that, in principle, you will also need to register the trademark in the country in which you affixed the trademark to the clothing.

If, for example, someone else in that country holds trademark rights for a similar trademark, and the act of using the trademark constitutes an infringement of that person's trademark rights in that country, your goods may be seized before being imported into Japan.

Clothing is manufactured in many countries overseas, including East Asia, including China, and in recent years, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Each country handles trademarks in different ways, and there is also know-how required for trademark registration, so please feel free to contact us regarding this matter.

Finally

Brand building is extremely important in the sports industry.

It is still fresh in our memory how a private gym transformed into a national brand with a novel commercial that showed people before and after treatment. Now, the company is expanding its business into various areas, such as golf schools and English conversation, using the brand name that became so famous.

As such, protecting your brand is extremely important, as a single hit product can completely change the landscape of an industry.