Adele Shevel
Adele Shevel
Fifa has won its first court case against "ambush marketers" - popular Pretoria sports bar Eastwoods Tavern.
The bar - located close to Loftus Stadium in Pretoria, which is one of the venues to host games during next year's Soccer World Cup tournament - had been carrying "World Cup 2010" below the main signage on its roof.
It also erected banners featuring the flags of several soccer-playing countries accompanied by the numerals 2010, along with the words "Twenty Ten South Africa".
Fifa obtained a judgment with costs against Eastwoods in the Pretoria High Court, working through intellectual property firm Spoor & Fisher.
Owen Dean, a partner at Spoor & Fisher, said the judgment was timely, coming two months before the Confederations Cup tournament which is considered "the dress rehearsal for the 2010 World Cup, and just over a year before the main tournament itself".
"It sends out a clear signal to any other organisation considering ambush marketing that they will suffer untoward consequences," said Dean.
The action against Eastwoods Tavern is the culmination of a five-year collaboration between Fifa and Spoor & Fisher, which included included an extensive trademark registration programme covering trade markets such as South Africa 2010 and World Cup 2010.
Fifa takes sports bar to court
Adele Shevel
Adele Shevel
Fifa has won its first court case against "ambush marketers" - popular Pretoria sports bar Eastwoods Tavern.
The bar - located close to Loftus Stadium in Pretoria, which is one of the venues to host games during next year's Soccer World Cup tournament - had been carrying "World Cup 2010" below the main signage on its roof.
It also erected banners featuring the flags of several soccer-playing countries accompanied by the numerals 2010, along with the words "Twenty Ten South Africa".
Fifa obtained a judgment with costs against Eastwoods in the Pretoria High Court, working through intellectual property firm Spoor & Fisher.
Owen Dean, a partner at Spoor & Fisher, said the judgment was timely, coming two months before the Confederations Cup tournament which is considered "the dress rehearsal for the 2010 World Cup, and just over a year before the main tournament itself".
"It sends out a clear signal to any other organisation considering ambush marketing that they will suffer untoward consequences," said Dean.
The action against Eastwoods Tavern is the culmination of a five-year collaboration between Fifa and Spoor & Fisher, which included included an extensive trademark registration programme covering trade markets such as South Africa 2010 and World Cup 2010.