50K is not enough ...

Tens of thousands protest FIFA Confederations Cup costs in Brazil

Youths clashed with police in central Rio Monday as more than 200,000 people marched in major Brazilian cities to protest the billions of dollars spent on the Confederations Cup and higher public transport costs.

Rio de Janeiro: Youths clashed with police in central Rio Monday as more than 200,000 people marched in major Brazilian cities to protest the billions of dollars spent on the Confederations Cup and higher public transport costs.

The nationwide demonstrations, the most extensive since the unrest began 10 days ago, were relatively peaceful.

However acts of vandalism were reported in Rio and Porto Alegre. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of NDTV.

Kicking Back Comments: Okay FIFA ... it's your move. You can clearly see how local folks are going to react to you robbing them blind.

Are you ready for some unrest during the World Cup?

And speaking of intellectual property rights ...

Tottenham's Gareth Bale applies to trademark his goal celebration

Tottenham forward Gareth Bale is attempting to cash in on his new-found fame by filing an application to trademark his goal celebration, a heart-shaped hand gesture he dedicates to his long-time girlfriend. ...

See the whole story here, courtesy of cbc sports.

Kicking Back Comments: While his specific logo is likely a viable trademark, his on field gesture certainly is not as if you google "hand heart", it is pretty much out there in general use, and has been for some time.

For any interested, a fairly extensive discussion on the topic can be found here. I was interested to find the Bass Brewery Logo was the 1st image to be registered as a trademark in 1875.

Say what you will ...

For those who are regular readers here, you know I am outspoken about some of the shenanigans at FIFA and specifically how some at the top seem to have far more regard for their pockets, that The Game itself.

Well ... like everything ... there is another side as FIFA does some really charitable work as well.

One area that FIFA excels in is keeping track of the history of The Game. This can be evidenced by articles in the FIFA history section like "From 1863 to the Present Day," regarding the history of the LOTG.

Madame X, a former history teacher remind me often of how important staying connected to history is, and I agree with her in this case that such learning is a good example.

FIFA has a bone fide degree tract as well. Take a look here if you are interested in becoming a FIFA Master. It is described as:

The FIFA Master - International Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport.

Organised by the International Centre for Sport Studies (CIES) in partnership with three universities, De Montfort University in Leicester (England), SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan (Italy) and the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), and endorsed by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the FIFA Master in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport was created to promote management education within the sports world. It has developed to become a top graduate programme developing all-round managers who can cope with the increasingly complex world of sport.

and apparently hold some clout as the best sports management program in Eurpoe, that is if you belive FIFA talking about themselves.

Either way, kudos to FIFA for keeping the flame lit on The Game, and not forgetting its roots.

No soccer today ...

All please enjoy their Father's Day ... and reflect on those who have passed.

A brief history can be found here.

Beating up on the little guy in Brazil

SAP, Pfizer-Teva, FIFA, Agilent: Intellectual Property

Trademark
FIFA Says Brazil World Cup Soccer Trademark Abuse More Than 2010

Soccer’s governing body FIFA said it found more cases of intellectual property infringement related to next year’s World Cup in Brazil than it did a year before South Africa hosted sports’ most-watched event in 2010.

Auke-Jan Bossenbroek, FIFA’s legal counsel responsible for protecting the Zurich-based organization’s trademarks, said action has been taken in the past six months against about 100 companies that don’t have permission to use protected words or logos related to the World Cup, which kicks off in Rio de Janeiro June 12, 2014. ...

See the whole article here, courtesy of Bloomberg.

Kicking Back Comments: I don't begrudge FIFA from enforcing their registered trademarks. They are property of FIFA and have every right to do so, and should for the future ability to do so.

Where I got a bit chapped was in the closing comment of the article, which states:

"Many of the cases in Brazil have been the result of local businesses not understanding the rules related to using World Cup logos, Bossenbroek said."

Now, not knowing the law is not an excuse, and I have to believe that most folks (everywhere), don't know the implications of trademark law. It does however smell a little heavy handed with a FIFA lawyer coming down on small shop owners in Brazil.

There are already wide reports of most locals not being bale to afford tickets, and FIFA has responded by providing 50K "free" tickets for use by the local folks (what actually happens, we'll see). 

I can see a similar argument here for "picking on" local shop owners for trademark violations. I'm not arguing that these are not violations, but there has to be a point of diminishing returns for FIFA. Not only is there a cost associated with finding these folks, but I also believe it to be bad form to make the guy wheeling around a trash barrel full of beer for $1 each take the photo of the FIFA World Cup(r) Trophy off his trash barrel.

It is all a bit too sterile for me. The locals are getting robbed blind ... again. Just let it go guys.