We have just witnessed the winner of one of the oldest and most iconic tennis tournaments in the world, Wimbledon. The All-England Lawn Tennis Club, which manages the tournament is very active on the intellectual property field. Since 1996 it has registered 13 types of trademarks in the EU.
Here are some examples:
Word mark, that is the name Wimbledon:
Figurative mark, that is the famous recognisable logo with crossed rockets:
Colour mark, that is the combination of dark green and purple traditionally associated with the tournament ever since 1909:
The colour mark was obtained in 2016. To have it registered, Wimbledon had to provide evidence of the large-scale use of those colours for more than 100 years.
Tennis has always been very important for the fashion industry both on the tennis court and outside it. EU trademarks like Fred Perry (inspired by the British player) or LACOSTE (found by René Lacoste) are world-famous. Players like Roger Federer, Andy Murry and Serena Williams developed their own fashion lines in the EU. Just as in other sports, the big names in tennis like Maria Sakkari, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Grigor Dimitrov have their own registered trademarks.
Technologies keep producing revolutions in sport. Part of the longest partnership in the history of sport articles is between Wimbledon and Slazenger, the official supplier of tennis balls for the tournament since 1902. Each tournament uses some 55 000 balls. Wimbledon’s famous yellow tennis balls were used for the first time in 1986. Until now this specific appearance is achieved with the help of the patent Ultra Vis™ paint, which secures maximum visibility to the players and the audience. The process of producing the balls is patented, too. Another innovation is the use of the Hawk-Eye™, a patented computer system for immediate repetition that is used in various sports including tennis.