Cricket is a religion which is followed by millions in India and people live and breathe the sport. Agni poojas and sacred offerings are done for the Indian Cricket Team before matches. India v Pakistan is a game always noted down on the calendar by every Indian and Pakistani as a matter of fact. The streets, traffic, work and everything grinds to a halt. An estimated 288 million viewers watched the last match ( India v Pakistan 2015 WC).
Can you guess what was the amount of money the advertisers had to pay for a 10-second spot?
A whopping 25 lakhs!!!!!! Star India which telecasted the match must have made a killing of this and they claim they had over 100 various brands to advertise.
All this is the magic of Intellectual Property Rights. IPR is the reason why the telecasters are able to make such a killing.
The following can be associated with IPR and I have provided examples to make it easier to remember.
Technology
A patent had been filed for a technology for “Cricket Wicket Monitoring System”. This technology can be used for checking whether the bails on the wicket have been completely removed. This is helpful in judging in close circumstances in case of run outs or a stumping. Even the “Snickometer” which helps in determining a contact between ball and bat is a patented technology. And I have saved the best for last, the famous “Mongoose” bat used by Matthew Hayden is also patented article.
Randing
You must have noticed Sachin Tendulkar’s brand on the bats “St” and there was an edition released in 2013 as well. The logo of the “ICC World Cup” is also branding. This helps the manufacturers (Adidas in case of the bat) or the organization (ICC) to help create a value for their product and help them generate revenue.
The image rights of a person also come under Intellectual Property and that is the reason they earn huge sums of money from endorsement deals.
According to Forbes, M.S. Dhoni, captain charismatic is the richest cricketer in the world eclipsing the legend, Sachin Tendulkar. His total earnings amount to $26.5 million with Sachin Tendulkar in second place with $18.6 million.Ranging from adidas to Nike to Reebok, you name the brand and the cricketers are associated with it.
Design
The “Mongoose” bat can be protected under Designs as well shoes or any gear adorned by the cricketer. Most of you must be familiar with the tragic incident of Phil Hughes who died due to an injury by a fast ball to the back of his head. A new helmet has been designed by Masuri Group Ltd. which is named the “StemGuard”.
Broadcasting
ICC and Star recently signed a blockbuster broadcasting deal which is estimated to be one of the highest broadcasting deals related to the sport. These broadcasting deals helps in revenue generation for the organizations. The World Cup Final of 2011 (in which India beat Sri Lanka) had record viewer ship till date. These kind of matches and viewership raises the bar for advertising prices which is in turn good for the broadcasters.
Licenses
Licenses help in sharing of patents and at the same time helps in revenue generation. A single technology can be used across multiple sports like the “Stemguard” helmet, which can be used in sports like Ice Hockey as well.
The presence of Intellectual Property rights can be seen in every inch of our life, from our beloved sport Cricket to the smartphone and the music that we listen to as well. It is just required that we open up our thinking horizon and see it.
