Sport Legal Issues Athlete, coach and participant rights Administrative law Responsibilities of a meet manager The Business of Sport Intellectual property rights

Case - Stachiw v. Saskatoon Softball Umpires Association Stachiw - softball umpire + member of the Saskatoon Softball Umpires Association (SSUA). SSUA executive heard that Stachiw, while umpiring, was drinking beer, against SSUAs rules. SSUA suspended Stachiw who was then notified of hearing to refute allegations. Stachiw did not attend hearing – SSUA extended suspension to one year.

Case - Stachiw v. Saskatoon Softball Umpires Association Stachiw appealed which was allowed under the SSUA constitution. He denied drinking beer. SSUA executive heard evidence from witnesses, some of whom changed their testimony and denied they saw Stachiw drinking beer. Executive also heard evidence of duress toward witnesses to recant original statements SSUA executive denied Stachiws appeal

Case - Stachiw v. Saskatoon Softball Umpires Association What is Stachiws next step? What is Stachiws grounds for appeal? How can SSU defend itself?

Administrative Law Athlete – sport organization (SO) relationship is… A contract and is governed by the Rules of Natural Justice, I.e., to be fair Important issues of Eligibility, selection, conduct, discipline, harassment, conflict of interest SO can grant or withdraw privileges SO are regulatory boards Administrative law regulates the regulators?

Rules of Natural Justice #1 - Right to a hearing Notice Know nature of decision and whether appealable Be heard by the decision maker Defend ones self Full disclosure of relevant information Cross examination

Rules of Natural Justice # 2 – Absence of bias Actual bias (closed mind) or apprehended bias personal relationship, informational, attitudinal (not open), institutional (made original decision) or operational (one party favoured)

Rules of Natural Justice # 3 – No errors in jurisdiction Goes beyond boards powers # 4 – No errors of a technical or clerical nature If natural justice lacking – seek a Judicial Review Only consider the process, not the merits of the arguments All internal appeals first

SOs managing internal appeal process (prior to a judicial review) Clarify and limit grounds for appeal Do not allow an appeal of the policy itself Communicate criteria in advance Use objective criteria Avoid personal discretion or judgement calls

Athletes grounds for appeal (to the SO) Lack of authority – cannot make up policy Failure to follow policy – breach of contract If no policy – follow the rules of nature justice Abuse of discretion – have objective criteria with clearly defined areas of discretion Use irrelevant information or ignores relevant information Decision is unreasonable Sanctions greatly exceed the misconduct

Judicial Review Courts sensitive to Charter and H.R. Code violations Exhaust internal appeal process first Only procedural errors Enforcement powers of court to – Prevent or stop an action, Enforce a decision Declare (I.e, clarify) the law

SO dispute management Plan - good policies, procedures, decision makers Alternative dispute resolution Clear policies – eligibility, selection, conduct, discipline, harassment, conflict of interest Clear appeal policy Privitive clauses – limits the powers of the court, prohibiting it from deciding what is right or wrong

You are the meet/tournament manager Kids soccer tournament Triathlon (ages 16 +) Alpine ski race - teens Why do you have legal obligations? Who else is involved? List the issues to be addressed and planned.

Responsibilities of a meet manager Tort and contract law issues Risk reduction – safety issue Necessity of … Good supervision of practices, activities, Facility maintenance Scheduling – tight time frames Equipment in place

Who else could be responsible? Coaches Sponsoring organization School, college, university League Team Provincial or National Sporting Organization (PSO), (NSO) Municipality

Sporting meet issues Mandatory pre and post meet/tournament activities Pre-race meeting – athletes, coaches Children, teens, inexperienced athletes Officiating – timing, results

Sporting meet issues Emergency services Waiver forms – warnings Protection from weather extremes – heat and cold – water Reserve the right to cancel the meet Volunteers Spectators

Sporting meet issues Parents – helping kids, interfering with coaches, running on the field Parking, traffic Local approvals, I.e., special event permit from City (maybe) PSO or NSO sanctioning and insurance

The Business of Sport Market for commercial spectator sport - Active participants Passive spectators Sporting goods at retail, wholesale, manufacturing Fitness business Sport as public entertainment - television

The Business of Sport 22 nd largest industry in North America $13.8 B in advertising in 2000 Who has the power? National sponsors and media outlet, less so the NSO Business challenge – new markets, marketing reach Mutual (symbiotic) promotion by teams, league, players, media, sponsors, advertisers

Economic Organization of Sports Investment, Development, Revenues Sports spectaclePublic as audience Taxpayer funded – facilities, schools, Lotteries, tax exemptions Private financing - customers and volunteers business sector –owners, sponsors, sporting goods, media, merchandising, endorsements individuals – athletes families, memberships, donations, ticket sales, TV TV advertising market – Advertisers, sponsors, TV/media rights market – networks, cable, special channels, pay- per-view Sport organizations – professional leagues and teams, NSO, Intl Federations, Games, Events, Labour market – professional players and athletes Publicity, media, broadcasting, entertainment Spectators, viewers, consumers

IOCs entrepreneurial activity The Olympic Program (TOP) – logos, sponsorships TV rights sold for 1976 summer$25 M 1988 winter$309 M 1992$450 M

Sports marketing Both – marketing of sports and marketing through sports To reach audiences – e.g., beer Event sponsors buy promotional licenses – attaches to a sport proud sponsor – exposure, exclusivity, certainty in the association

Rights and Properties Real property – land and buildings Personal property – tangible goods (chattels) intangible rights Intellectual property such as trademark, copyright, patent, industrial design, trade secret Others such as goodwill, right to receive debt payments etc.)

Intellectual property rights Statute law – Federal Trademark Act, Patent Act, Copyright Act, plus international law SO rights v medias rights to free commercial speech and news Negotiate commercial sponsorship Ambush marketing

Intellectual property Trademarks – symbols, phrases, names, graphics, logo of a business or product Copyright – wording, music, art Not the idea, can sell copyright but retains moral rights Patents – unique working of a device, drug, gene, etc Industrial design – product design, look, manufacture Trade secret – knowledge of commercial value, e.g., customer list

Case – NHL v Pepsi NHL sold logo rights for $2.6 m to Coke Also sold broadcast rights to Molson Molson gave Pepsi rights to market drinks on Hockey Night in Canada Pepsi developed Pro Hockey Playoff Pool Why is NHL suing Pepsi? What must it prove?

Trademark infringement Holders must defend Tort of passing off must prove - Misrepresentation, even innocent Commercial use Public mislead Injures goodwill of plaintiff Must show damages

Case – Toyota Canada v Lexus Foods Lexus Foods sold canned fruits and vegetables under the Lexus label in Quebec Toyota sued for trademark infringement At the time in Montreal, other businesses were Lexus Bath Mats, Lexus Cleaners, Lexus Realty, Lexus Computer Training. What must Toyota prove?

Property rights agreement Rights and responsibilities of each party Level of media exposure Fees, payment Length of contract, renewal, termination Assignment powers Lead sponsor rights to approve minor sponsors or veto competitors

Licensing agreements Who? Sports organization, a league, a team, a player What? Name, development program, product, logo, trademark Where ? Publication, hospitality gathering, Trophy, reward Advertising rights – at a facility, on equipment, on clothing Conflicting endorsements by individual athletes

Protecting rights Register under Trademark Act Ottawa Renegades, not the Rough Riders Canadian Olympic Association (COA) – 51 cases over words, numbers, logos, pictograms COA v Olympic Optical (1991) COA v Konica Canada (1992) – Konica could not sell the Guiness Book of World Records, using COA logo on promotion campaign