VIVO INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE 2021

Brand And Content Protection Guidelines

These Brand and Content Protection Guidelines provide guidance on acceptable and sanctioned use of proprietary content and
intellectual property rights owned by the Indian Premier League in relation to the Vivo Indian Premier League 2021 to be staged in the
India. A copy of these guidelines is also available on the IPL’s official website at: http://www.iplt20.com.
 CONTENTS
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 2
Frequently Asked Questions .............................................................................................................. 2
Why protect the IPL brand? ............................................................................................................. 2
What constitutes the “IPL IPR”? ..................................................................................................... 3
How are the IPL IPR protected? ...................................................................................................... 5
What uses are unlawful without a license from the IPL? .............................................................. 5
When can the IPL IPR be used? ...................................................................................................... 6
What are the consequences of using any IPL IPR without the IPL’s authorisation? ................ 6
What rights do franchise sponsors and partners have? .............................................................. 7
What are some specific examples of impermissible unlicensed behaviour? ............................ 7
Who are the Partners of the IPL (Commercial and Broadcast)? ................................................ 12

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 INTRODUCTION

These Vivo Indian Premier League 2021 Brand and Content Protection Guidelines (“Guidelines”) are
issued by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (“BCCI”) in respect of the Indian Premier League
2021 (“IPL”), and provide guidance on appropriate and acceptable commercial and non-commercial
utilisation by third parties of the proprietary names (“IPL Names”), proprietary marks and trophy image
(together, the “IPL Marks”) and audio-visual representations of match play in all media (“IPL Footage”)
relating to the IPL. These Guidelines shall apply to activities by third parties on a worldwide basis,
including in India.

For the purposes of these Guidelines, the IPL Names, IPL Marks and IPL Footage and other intellectual
properties by whatever name called or described related to or arising out of the IPL, without any
limitation and as detailed, amongst others, together constitute the “IPL IPR”.

The value of the IPL IPR and their appropriate and acceptable use and protection thereof are critical to
the success of the IPL. The Frequently Asked Questions below provide an overview of why the IPL
must and will protect its brand, what the IPL’s legal rights are, and what third parties should and should
not do in relation to the IPL IPR.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHY PROTECT THE IPL BRAND?

Any world class event such as the IPL is only made possible through the commercial participation and
support of sponsors, partners, licensees and broadcasters, that are each granted certain exclusive
rights and privileges by the IPL in consideration for their support. As a result, it is vital that all IPL IPR
are protected and managed by the IPL. If anyone could use the IPL IPR for free, or could create or
suggest an association with the IPL, there would be no incentive for sponsors, partners or broadcasters
to invest in or support the IPL and, ultimately, the amount of financial distributions that the IPL would
be able to make across its franchises and across its membership base for investment in the sport of
cricket towards development of infrastructure, support of retired cricketers and match officials, and
development of the game at all levels would be damaged immeasurably. The IPL must prevent
unlicensed third parties from undertaking unauthorised activities that damage or dilute the IPL’s
exclusive rights and those of its sponsors, partners and broadcasters. Also, in order to maintain the
integrity of the IPL brand and to protect against dilution and damage to its reputation and prestige, it is
vital that the IPL retains careful control of IPL IPR and their uses.

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 WHAT CONSTITUTES THE “IPL IPR”?

All of the official names, phrases, trademarks, trade names, logos, trophy image and designs related to
the IPL are protected by the law in a variety of ways. The following are some of the current items that
make up the IPL Names and IPL Marks:

IPL NAMES ✓ Indian Premier League

✓ IPL
✓ IPLT20
✓ IPL T20
✓ IPL Twenty20
✓ VIVO Indian Premier League
✓ VIVO IPL

IPL NAMES FROM ✓ Dream11 IPL

PREVIOUS EDITIONS
✓ Dream11 Indian Premier League
OF THE IPL
✓ DLF Indian Premier League
✓ DLF IPL
✓ Pepsi Indian Premier League
✓ Pepsi IPL

IPL MARKS

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 IPL MARKS FROM
PREVIOUS EDITIONS
OF THE IPL

IPL TROPHY (FROM

PREVIOUS EDITIONS
OF THE IPL)

IPL FRANCHISES ✓ Chennai Super Kings

(NAMES) ✓ Delhi Capitals
(The names of the eight
✓ Kolkata Knight Riders
franchises participating
in the IPL constitute the ✓ Mumbai Indians
intellectual property of ✓ Punjab Kings
each of those franchises) ✓ Rajasthan Royals
✓ Royal Challengers Bangalore
✓ Sunrisers Hyderabad

IPL FRANCHISES
(LOGOS)
(The logos of the eight
franchises participating
in the IPL constitute the
intellectual property of
each of those franchises)

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 OFFICIAL IPL
WEBSITE

www.iplt20.com

Also, still images, live audio-visual footage of match play action and deferred highlights/clips of match
play and the official tournament song, where applicable, constitute protected and proprietary IPL
Footage, which forms part of IPL IPR. The unlicensed usage of IPL IPR is not permitted in any manner
or form whatsoever, including partial usage, substantial usage and/or usage of short forms/variations
of IPL IPR save as permitted by copyright or “fair dealing” principles.

HOW ARE THE IPL IPR PROTECTED?

The IPL IPR are legally protected by a wide variety of means, which include trade mark and design
laws, copyright laws, competition and trade practices laws, telecommunications and broadcast laws
relating to signal theft, common law and the terms and conditions under which IPL match tickets are
sold and pursuant to which stadium entry is permitted.

WHAT USES ARE UNLAWFUL WITHOUT A LICENSE FROM THE IPL?

The unlicensed and unauthorised use of any of the IPL Names, IPL Marks (or any other marks or logos
that are confusingly similar to, or likely to be mistaken for, them) or IPL Footage is strictly prohibited.
For example, without license from the IPL, it is unlawful to (i) use the IPL Names and IPL Marks in a
manner likely to cause confusion among members of the public as to the existence of a commercial
association with the IPL, or (ii) reproduce or distribute items using IPL IPR in the course of trade. The
IPL Names and IPL Marks cannot be used on goods, in business names or in advertising or promotions
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without license from the IPL or one of its authorised licensees that, in turn, has the rights to grant sub-
licenses. It is also unlawful, through the use of the IPL IPR, to falsely represent or imply any association,
affiliation, endorsement, sponsorship or similar relationship with the IPL.

It is important to note that a formal or pre-existing association with any of the eight participating
franchises does not permit a franchise partner or franchise sponsor any right to use the IPL IPR (other
than the specific rights such franchisee may be authorised by the IPL to sub-license) without the prior
authorisation of the IPL.

WHEN CAN THE IPL IPR BE USED?

The IPL IPR can be used with the license and authorisation of the IPL or its authorised licensees that
have been expressly granted the rights to grant sub-licenses. Such license and authorisation will only
be given to official IPL franchises, sponsors, partners, licensees and non-commercial partners.

There are very few situations in which the IPL IPR can be used without the IPL’s explicit license and
consent. The IPL Names, IPL Marks and, to a limited extent and subject to the current IPL Media
Accreditation Terms and News Access Regulations (and all relevant copyright laws), the IPL Footage,
may be used for news reporting purposes in non-commercial editorial-only news reporting pieces
without the IPL’s prior authorisation. In certain circumstances when reporting and providing information
on the IPL, journalists are able to use the IPL Names and IPL Marks to illustrate their editorial-only
feature subject to full compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Such use of the IPL IPR must
be in compliance with these Guidelines.

The IPL’s intention is not to restrict people from interacting with the IPL or providing or sharing
information on the IPL, but, when they do so, the IPL’s legal rights must be recognised, respected and
fully adhered to.

Please be advised that in the limited instances in which non-licensed usage of IPL IPR is permitted,
such usage cannot be for commercial purposes.

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF USING ANY IPL IPR WITHOUT

THE IPL’S AUTHORISATION?

Unauthorised use of the IPL IPR may infringe one or more of the intellectual property rights of the IPL,
the terms of the agreements signed between the IPL and official sponsors and partners of the IPL and/or
the terms and conditions under which IPL tickets are sold and stadium entry is permitted. While the IPL
expects full compliance with the above, it is prepared to take all legal action in the case of each and
any infringement and violation. This could include an injunction to stop the infringing activity, a suit for
damages or compensation or an enforced accounting of profits by the infringer to the IPL. Both civil and
criminal remedies may be available in the case of intellectual property violations, signal theft and other
violations of the IPL’s rights.

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Before the IPL initiates legal proceedings, a suspected infringer may receive a legal notice from the
IPL’s lawyers or its designated agent, advising the infringer of violations and unlicensed usage relating
to the IPL IPR and/or potential infringements constituting breach of the Media Accreditation Terms
and/or the News Access Regulations and/or the terms and conditions of download and usage of the
IPL Marks.

In such event, the offending party may be given the opportunity, without prejudice to any rights of the
IPL to take legal action against the offending party, to refrain from the continued use of the IPL IPR
and/or the potential infringements. If the infringer fails to respond to and adhere to the requirements
and conditions set out in the legal notice, the IPL will exercise its right to pursue its legal and
administrative remedies. No such prior warning, however, is required, and the IPL will utilise all
resources available to fully protect the IPL IPR and ensure persons are dissuaded from infringing any
rights relating to the IPL.

WHAT RIGHTS DO FRANCHISE SPONSORS AND PARTNERS HAVE?

Franchise sponsors and partners are granted certain rights by the franchises they associate with. The
rights that franchises may grant to their sponsors and partners are governed by the franchise
agreement, sponsorship guidelines, player ID guidelines and other applicable league rules. In no event
may a franchise grant or a franchise sponsor or partner be granted any rights in IPL IPR. As a result, a
franchise sponsor or partner shall in no event use IPL IPR (other than specifically granted rights to use
franchise names, franchise marks, etc.) by virtue of being a franchise sponsor or partner. For the sake
of clarity, no franchise sponsor or partner may use the IPL Names or IPL Marks in any of its marketing
communications or promotions.

WHAT ARE SOME SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF IMPERMISSIBLE

UNLICENSED BEHAVIOUR?

For the sake of guidance, a non-exhaustive list of impermissible commercial behaviour is provided
below:-

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ADVERTISEMENTS, PROMOTIONS AND
EVENTS

Advertisement features stating or suggesting

an association between a brand, product,
service or event and the IPL by using IPL
Names, IPL Marks and IPL Footage are
impermissible. Similarly, businesses that
produce newsletters to customers or clients
must ensure that IPL Names, IPL Marks and
IPL Footage are not used, especially in a way
which suggests a commercial association
between their business and the IPL.

The same applies to businesses that invite

customers to IPL themed events. Holding an
event which is only about the IPL and uses the
IPL Names, IPL Marks and IPL Footage is not
permissible. This is particularly true of events
that have commercial sponsors involved.

WEBSITES

Trademark and copyright laws apply equally to

the Internet and to websites. Websites that
provide information about the IPL and are
being operated on a purely non-commercial
basis – for example, a supporters’ site used to
provide information about players participating
in the IPL, or a chat forum about the IPL – are
unlikely to infringe the IPL’s rights. However,
the creation of IPL specific communities that
use IPL Names, IPL Marks and IPL Footage
and solicit and raise sponsorships and
advertising constitutes commercial use of IPL
IPR and are impermissible.

In particular, live streaming and deferred

uploading of IPL Footage (whether or not for
profit), reproduction of IPL Names and IPL
Marks in commercial contexts online and sale
of counterfeit and unofficial IPL merchandise

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on auction and other websites constitute
serious infringements of the IPL’s intellectual
property rights and could result in civil penalties
and even criminal prosecution.

The registration and use of domain names that

contain IPL Names also infringes IPL
trademarks and any attempt to divert web
traffic by the use of IPL Names in meta-tags or
other notations or through the purchase of IPL
Names as search or advertising keywords is
impermissible.

The creation of fantasy leagues or other online

competitions or events that use or make
reference to the IPL or claim “official” status
without license or use IPL IPR are
impermissible.

BUSINESS NAMES

Adopting business or trading names that

include IPL Names and using business logos
that include IPL Marks or confusingly similar
marks are impermissible.

TICKETS AND HOSPITALITY PACKAGES

Tickets to IPL matches are sold under specific

conditions. Primarily, these may only be
purchased through officially appointed ticketing
agents for personal use. IPL tickets may not be
used for promotions or as prizes in contests.
The right to run ticket promotions is reserved
for IPL sponsors and partners and is strictly
prohibited by the tickets’ terms and conditions.
Further, IPL tickets may not be resold for a
profit or as part of hospitality packages by

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unlicensed travel agents or other entities. Only
IPL sponsors and partners may use IPL marks
in these promotions.

IPL tickets may not be sold, or otherwise

included for commercial purposes as part of a
travel or tour package (for example combining
match tickets with flights and/or a hotel room
for the night) by unlicensed travel agents or
other entities.

Further, unlicensed travel agents or other

entities may not engage in any form of activity
which may result in an unauthorised
commercial association with the IPL, to the
detriment of the IPL or its commercial affiliates,
whether by way of an unauthorised use of IPL
Names and IPL Marks or otherwise.

PUBLIC SCREENINGS

The IPL and its official broadcaster retain all

rights to license commercial screenings of IPL
Footage made available to members of the
public or displayed in public places. Prohibited
acts include display of IPL Footage in movie
theatres, the sale of tickets or levying of a cover
charge for entry to a location screening IPL
Footage or IPL themed screening events that
use the IPL Names, IPL Marks and IPL
Footage.

MOBILE AND WIRELESS SERVICES AND

APPLICATIONS

IPL Names, IPL Marks and IPL Footage may

not be used on any mobile or wireless
technology, including on mobile applications
without license. Further, SMS updates of live
scores, games, competitions and features that
utilise the IPL IPR may not be offered or made
available without license from the IPL’s official
mobile and mobile activation partner.

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MERCHANDISE

Merchandise with general cricket terms, India

related terms (provided there is no usage of IPL
IPR) are permissible. Prohibited acts include,
the manufacture and sale of counterfeit
merchandise relating to the IPL, and the
I Love
unlicensed use of IPL IPR or any reference to Cricket
the IPL or unlicensed use of the IPL IPR
relating to any of the teams participating in the
IPL, in the merchandise.

MATCH SCHEDULE

Use of the match schedule to provide

information in a purely non-commercial sense
is permitted.

However, the commercial use or presentation

of the match schedule by third parties is not
permitted.

EDITORIAL USES, NEWSLETTERS

Purely editorial use of IPL Names and IPL

Marks solely for conveying information and
without association with any commercial entity
is permissible use.

However, this journalistic use exception with

respect to IPL Names, IPL Marks and IPL
Footage does not apply to the production and
distribution of newsletters, client bulletins or
other marketing collateral produced in the
guise of journalism, which state or suggest an
official association between a product, service
or event and the IPL.

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 WHO ARE THE PARTNERS OF THE IPL (COMMERCIAL AND
BROADCAST)?

DISCLAIMER
This document is not an exhaustive description of any or all of the IPL’s rights at law or in contract. The IPL does
not have the resources to provide individual advice to people concerned that their activities may infringe the IPL’s
rights, but has produced these Guidelines for illustrative purposes. These Guidelines are not intended to be, and
are not a substitute for, legal advice. If you think you may have infringed the IPL’s rights, or you are proposing to
do something that you think may infringe the IPL’s rights, the IPL recommends that you seek independent legal
advice.

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