Super Bowl trademark safe zones multiply

Sports is often an area for intellectual property officers have difficulty managing and protecting their trademarks, since sporting events often bring out a host of trademark violators selling unauthorized clothing and services, But good news for trademark holders in sports, this year’s Indianapolis’ game had “multiple clean zones” near the stadium where only trademarked items could be sold. Requirements for being in the “clean zones”: vendor approval and a $75 fee for a limited duration license, reports www.businessweek.com.

While the requirement for “clean zones” isn’t new, Indianapolis is the first Super Bowl host city to designate multiple sites, and to make the radius of such zones adjustable. Host cities that don’t enforce “clean zones” must pay fines to the sponsors of the sporting event.