“Representation, Intellectual Property and Nationality!”

Jul 27, 2014 Sports

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Colin E. H. Croft
Last Sunday, for German Formula 1 Grand Prix at Hockenheim, Nico Rosberg, born in Germany to former Formula 1 World Champion Keke ‘Flying Finn’ Rosberg, planned to wear a helmet depicting FIFA’s World Cup Trophy.

Here was a German, driving his “home” car, a super-fast Mercedes, in his “home” Grand Prix, trying to celebrate his foot-balling compatriots’ victory in Brazil.
What is wrong with this picture?  It is illegal, known as “Ambush Marketing”!
Expectedly, referencing Intellectual Property Laws, FIFA screamed loudly that Rosberg must not use “their” property, a picture of “their” World Cup on his helmet, unless he wanted to break laws, though he could, and did, use indicative four stars, for Germany’s four World Cup wins, and German flag.
Knowing fines from law-suits, though he could afford them, Nico Rosberg preferred less stress, removing the World Cup pictures from his helmet.   Ironically, he won the race!
What would have happened if Brazilian Football Confederation; CBF; seeing gazillions worldwide wearing that yellow shirt at World Cup 2014, with numbers, names and logos, were to decree that “Brazil” shirts were “their” Intellectual Property and could not be so worn?  Papa!
But long gone are days when anyone can use anything, in sports, with any logo or brand-name they see fit, to denote whatever they like!
T&T’s Minister of Sport Anil Roberts’ position, logic and reasoning are correct; that Caribbean Premier League’s “Red Steel” should not, legally, use “Trinidad & Tobago” in its name, as that moniker is unique and reserved, at least nowadays, for Trinidad & Tobago’s indigenous representative teams.
What is the difference between “T&T Red Steel” and “T&T Red Force?”
Easy!  The latter was composed only of indigenous T&T personnel, but according to some, the two teams are the same!  Eh? What?
BTW, is “T&T” copyrighted?
Dwayne Bravo, same guy batting in 2013 when WI screwed up Champions Trophy’s effort v South Africa for a semi-final place, by misunderstanding obvious Duckworth-Lewis notations, is definitely T&T’s property, but there was nothing intellectual or intelligent about his imbecilic response to the Minister!
Also, per geographic and demographic Caribbean, WICB has, thankfully, correctly dis-approved Director of Cricket Richard Pybus’ proposed dissection of regional teams; “player transfers.”
Clearly, Pybus is ignorant of the fact that West Indies is made up of absolutely independent, singular nations; countries; not counties like Middlesex, from which, as Coach, he quit in 2006, after authoritatively managing Middlesex’s demotion into 2nd Division in English County Cricket!
Do these folks know nothing else anything except maybe cricket?
Eons ago, while preparing for WI Under-19 1971 Tournament, Berkley Gaskin, late Guyana and WI cricketer, former WI manager, asked one of Guyana’s team, not me, as to how he came to be wearing a West Indies cap.
“Did you earn that cap, young man?” asked Gaskin.  Ambitious, nonplussed and embarrassed, my team-mate removed it immediately!
If Berkley Gaskin was alive today, he would probably die of shock on seeing truck drivers, stevedores, garbage-folks, maxi-taxi operators all wearing WI-logoed paraphernalia everywhere!
Sir Wes Hall, as Barbadian as “Cockspur Rum”, coaching in Trinidad & Tobago late 1960’s, Rohan Kanhai, coaching there too, and David Holford, attending University of West Indies (St. Augustine), all represented T&T in regional 1st-class, four-day matches.
Super-imposing then to now, I could have ended up in jail, as my warm-up shoes, not those special ones used for proper games; “Whitings” from Australia or “Masons” from UK; but my warm-uppers, were by “Adidas,” while my fitted t-shirts; no uniformed track-suits then; were by “Nike” and “Le Coq Sportif”!
I could even have cheated, like some international batsmen continue to do, by taking better, sometimes hand-made bats from specific bat-makers, removing those bat-makers’ logos, brands and stickers, then replacing them with logos, brands and stickers of companies that the players are contracted to!
Why bother so much, since showing off the World Cup on a helmet or using “Trinidad & Tobago” for teams must help with event or country recognition, right?
This is a two-edged sword!
Name recognition, even if illegal, is priceless, remembering that mantra:  “All publicity, even if bad, is good!”  But sport is no longer games, just big business and branding!
Do you recall the deafening silence when telecommunications giant “Digicel” replaced parallel company “Cable & Wireless” in sponsoring WI series?  Neither wanted to even hear the other’s name!
These days, by the Minister’s description, Sir Wes would never have played for T&T, as Sir Wes never had a T&T passport, his ‘qualification’ being only that he had lived there for three months!
I did not have a T&T passport either when late captain Michael “Joey” Carew propositioned me to play in T&T’s 1975/6 team while I was studying navigation there!
If Guyana, Barbados, St. Lucia etc. allow their countries’ names to be used in CPL team names, all well and good, up to them, probably useful too, but they do defy Intellectual Property Laws, whatever anyone thinks.
What is the big thing anyway?  This is the world of the Caribbean.  No-one really cares about anything, while anyone can do anything without remorse.  Just ask the police in any Caribbean country!  Enjoy!

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