Displaysense warns businesses of all sizes could be breaking the law as World Cup fever hits the UK and the vuvuzelas and England shirts fly off the shelf and businesses look to get their boot in the door and take advantage of the football mania.
From pubs to estate agents, many companies are looking to ride off the back of the World Cup with catchy strap lines, however few realise that they could in fact infringe FIFA’s copyright laws. Phrases such as South Africa 2010, FIFA World Cup and even using the words World Cup in the context of football could break strict copyright laws resulting in harsh fines and even legal action.
During research into how customers are using displays during the World Cup period, Displaysense, a supplier of leaflet holders and spur shelving units in the UK discovered that 90% of customers contacted planned some form of promotion throughout June and July.
However it was also discovered that approximately 20% of those contacted are actually in breach of the FIFA copyright laws and Displaysense are looking to contact these companies to warn them about the potential impacts of their actions and give them some guidance on what they can do.
Steve Whittle the marketing director at Displaysense said, “Hardly any of the companies we contacted know anything about the copyright laws surrounding the World Cup and it’s the smaller businesses that seem to be most at risk. Even a poster holder in a pub highlighting that World Cup football can be watched on the premises is a violation of the laws. Just imagine how many of those signs you walk past every day that have similar messages on them.”
Via EPR Network
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