World Intellectual Property Day 2026 is fast approaching, with this year’s theme being “Intellectual Property and Sports: On Your Marks, Get Set, Innovate!” On April 23, King&Capital Law Firm hosted a seminar on brand protection for sporting events. Liu Ming, the managing partner of the firm’s Intellectual Property Department, announced that King&Capital Law Firm will soon release the *Kyoto White Paper on Intellectual Property Protection for Sports Trademarks*.
The following is a summary of Attorney Liu Ming’s remarks at the seminar, compiled for our readers.
This year, the World Intellectual Property Organization has chosen the theme “Intellectual Property and Sports: On Your Marks, Get Set, Innovate!”, This theme precisely captures the core proposition of the deep integration between intellectual property and the sports industry. It not only resonates with the spirit of sports competition—striving for excellence and pushing beyond limits—but also aligns with the essential functions of intellectual property: incentivizing creation, protecting innovation, and driving development. It charts the legal course and innovative path for the high-quality development of the sports industry in the new era.
The six-word phrase “On Your Marks, Get Set, Innovate!” embodies three profound meanings. “On your marks” lays the foundation, establishing a solid compliance baseline and clarifying the boundaries of rights for the sports industry; “Get set” provides safeguards, building a protective system for sports innovation and mitigating risks and challenges; “Innovate” is the goal, injecting core momentum into the sports industry and driving high-quality development.
This year’s theme covers four core areas of sports intellectual property: sports trademark and brand protection, sports patents and technological innovation, sports copyright and content operations, and sports trade secrets and compliance governance. Among these, the protection of sports logos and trademarks is the most fundamental, widespread, and market-oriented core element. A trademark serves as the “identity card” of a sports brand, the “carrier” of commercial value, and the “passport” for market competition. Event logos, sports enterprise trademarks, and athletes’ personal identities all embody immense commercial value and social reputation. Strengthening the protection of sports trademarks is a key measure for maintaining fair market competition, stimulating brand innovation, and promoting the brand-driven development of the sports industry.
The protection of sports logos and trademarks constitutes a symbiotic legal ecosystem. Only when the sports logo and trademark systems are deeply integrated can a close relationship be formed where “the logo serves as the vehicle, the trademark represents the rights, protection is the core, and value is the goal.”
To further implement the theme of World Intellectual Property Day 2026, King&Capital Law Firm will release the *White Paper on Trademark Compliance and Infringement Governance in the Sports Sector*. The white paper will firmly grasp the core relationship between sports logos and trademark protection. Drawing on recent typical case studies, it will establish a Chinese model for sports trademark compliance planning and infringement governance, covering three key stakeholders: sports enterprises, athletes, and sports associations. It will not only showcase the practical achievements of China’s sports trademark protection but also provide the industry with clear compliance guidelines and references for rights enforcement. The core cases included in the white paper will be analyzed in detail, showcasing the legal practices and outstanding achievements of China’s intellectual property community in recent years across the following areas: trademark compliance and rights enforcement for sports enterprises, trademark protection for athletes’ personal identity symbols, and trademark compliance for sports associations.
The primary objective of the *White Paper on Trademark Compliance and Infringement Governance in the Sports Sector* is to establish a comprehensive sports trademark protection system. Guided by the rule of law in trademark matters, this system integrates “preemptive compliance planning, real-time monitoring and supervision, targeted post-incident rights enforcement, and collaborative comprehensive governance,” thereby solidifying the legal foundation for the innovative development of the sports industry and empowering the construction of a sports powerhouse.
The release of this white paper uses trademarks as a shield to safeguard sports innovation and lay the groundwork for a strong nation. By contributing legal expertise to further refine China’s sports trademark protection system and sustain the innovative vitality of the sports industry, our sports and intellectual property endeavors are bound to embrace a more prosperous and promising future!
