Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter
Derek Jones, senior legal counsel for ICC CWC World Cup 2007, addresses the media at a press conference yesterday in New Kingston. At left is project officer Alanna Medford. - JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
ONCE ENACTED, members of the business community and public could be forced to pay hefty fines under the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 Sunset Legislation Act, as the tournament organisers look to protect sponsors from what has been commonly referred to as ambush marketing.
The act, already passed in Barbados and expected to be adopted by all nine countries hosting the 2007 Cricket World Cup, would see an individual or company pay as much as $1.6 million on a first conviction and $4.8 million on second conviction for the use of any of the Cricket World Cup 2007 trademarks without consent.
Ambush marketing is described as any activity by a party which utilises the publicity value of an event to gain a benefit, without having any involvement or connection with the event, and more importantly without having paid anything to entitle the party to derive that benefit.
It has two basic aspects which are by association involves deceiving members of the public into thinking you have an association with the event and by intrusion which sees an individual using the event to provide exposure for their brand by getting in front of the cameras.
ARRANGEMENT
"A major part of our arrangement with our sponsors is that only their names will be displayed and they have paid a lot of money for that," said Derek Jones, senior legal counsel for ICC CWC World Cup 2007, in explaining the necessity of the Sunset legislation in a press briefing in New Kingston yesterday.
" If you wonder why there is so much fuss about the sponsors, remember that events like the World Cup are absolutely impossible without the money coming from them," Jones said.
Pepsi, LG Electronics, Hero Honda and Hutch are the tournament's global sponsors, while Indian Oil, Cable & Wireless and Scotia Bank are the official sponsors.
Because of the huge scope for violation in terms of ambush marketing, individual breaches in the act are expected to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
In addition to ambush marketing, the Sunset Legislation also deals with issues of safety, security and travel within the region.
It will ensure, for example, that there will be no containers allowed unless they can fit under the stadium seats due to safety requirements. This requirement falls in line with the worse case scenario which will see a stadium emptied in 10 minutes.
The huge television audience also makes the Cricket World Cup a potential target for terrorism, the act will therefore make provision for the searching of patrons and confiscation of any objects that can be considered weapons including bottles both glass and plastic.
Recently, regional heads of government approved travel between the Caribbean states involved in the competition without the need for check-ins at immigration or customs.
The bill is expected to be passed by all nine regions by November 30.
