Round Table : "Ambush-Marketing - Two sides of a medal"

Organised by the Union of European Practitioners in Intellectual Property

It has become a common strategy used by companies to promote their brands at famous events without paying any sponsorship fees, essentially using the event as a free promotion.

This type of marketing – often referred to as “Ambush marketing” – most commonly occurs in association with major sports events and is therefore again a hot issue for the upcoming Soccer Championship in 2010 and the Summer Olympics in 2012.

Ambush marketing is opportunistic and a topic of controversy. To protect the value and reputation of a social or sportive event with any tool given by Intellectual Property Law or by the Law of Unfair Competition is an understandable intention.

But it is also a legitimate question whether an “over protection” can damage the balance of free markets.

Union invites you to participate in an exciting discussion led by two outstanding speakers (Phillip Johnson, Lincoln’s Inn and Tom Heremans, Partner CMS DeBacker) – both closely involved in practical cases or academic research related to the field of “Ambush marketing”.