Licensing in Sports: Olympic, Collegiate, and Trademark Analysis

This report provides an overview of sports licensing, focusing on Olympic and Trademark licensing agreements. It defines sports licensing as a contractual process where organizations grant rights to use their names, logos, or trademarks on products. The report highlights the revenue-generating potential of sports licensing and compares Olympic licensing, which allows third-party companies to add value to their products using Olympic marks, with Trademark licensing, which enables licensees to produce and distribute products under a trademark. The report discusses the similarities between the two, such as their role in expanding market reach and enhancing brand recognition. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of licensing in protecting brand quality, generating revenue for both licensors and licensees, and fostering brand loyalty in the sports industry. References from Klimko & Caplanova (2017), Papadimitriou & Apostolopoulou (2018), Stim (2016), and WIPO (2019) are included.

Running head: SPORT LICESING 1
Licensing in the Sports Industry

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Introduction
As opined by Stim (2016), the sports licensing business prepares the contractual
document by which a sports organization gives its license to any company utilize the name, logo
or trademark on the products of the company. The company leasing the rights becomes the
licensee and the sports organization becomes the licensor. From the business point of view,
product licensing provides an opportunity to reach customers and sports fans either locally,
globally or nationally. Sports licensing has grown in the past few years and is considered to be
one of the most revenue generating in the licensing world. There are several licensing campaigns
for the sports events which involves the contribution of several organizations and universities in
order to gain revenues. It also depends upon the performance of the sports team.
Olympic Licensing Vs. Collegiate Licensing
According to Klimko & Caplanova (2017), Olympic licensing is an agreement that
allows a third party company to use the Olympic images, marks, designations and themes to add
value to the products of the third party company. The third party company has to purchase the
license rights using the Olympic images, marks and logos on their merchandise with earning 10
to 15% from the product sales revenues. On the other hand, as suggested by Papadimitriou &
Apostolopoulou (2018), Trademark licensing refers to the process which allows a licensee to
make and become a distributor of specific products and services under the trademark agreement
of the licensor. It is one kind of merchandising agreement which has been popular in the sports
industry.
The difference between both the licensing agreements is the relationship existing between
licensee's product and the third party. Through Trademark licensing, the licensor is not directly
involved in manufacturing of the products but in order to verify the product quality bearing the
trademark, the licensor will be involved. Where as in Olympic licensing the licensing is given to
add value to the products of the third party company.
Similarities in both the Licensing
Even when Olympic licensing and Trademark licensing are different in some aspects,
they are similar in one of the aspects. Olympic licensing and Trademark licensing are important
for businesses as it allows to reach new markets by the help of marketing and distribution

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channel of the partners. It also helps in increasing the brand recognition and helps in raising
awareness among consumers. In case of Olympic licensing, the companies taking the license will
have an opportunity to associate with the Olympic Games which is itself a great recognition. As
identified by WIPO (2019), in Trademark licensing, the third party companies takes pride in
associated with sports team's logo and name. Both the licensing secures a long term relationship
for both the parties associated.
Conclusion
Sports has undergone a rigorous change in the recent years which has shown immense
potential to generate substantial revenues today sports events, and sale and manufacturing of
sports merchandise. The reason why these unique elements may be important because licensing
in the sports business helps to protect the quality and consistency of the brand. Licensing
provides as a source of revenue for both the licensees and sports organizations. It improves the
brand value of the organizations along with building strong relationships and loyalty to the sports
brand.

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References
Klimko, P., & Caplanova, A. (2017). Intellectual Property Protection and Olympic
Games. Economic and Social Development: Book of Proceedings, 832-837.
Papadimitriou, D., & Apostolopoulou, A. (2018). Sport licenced products in the football
industry. Routledge Handbook of Football Business and Management. 1st ed. Abingdon,
UK: Routledge.
Stim, R. (2016). Contracts: The Essential Business Desk Reference. 3rd ed. California, United
States: Nolo.
WIPO. (2019). Licenses and Sponsorships in Sport. Retrieved from https://www.wipo.int/ip-
sport/en/licenses.html