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Intellectual Property and Sport: the value of the effort behind the registration
Yesterday, April 26, we celebrated World Intellectual Property Day, and this year the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) issued us a direct challenge: “Ready, set, innovate.” As a Salvadoran and an intellectual property (IP) professional, I cannot watch a soccer match or a surfing final without thinking about what lies behind each play: there is not only talent, there are intangible assets that, if left unprotected, simply vanish.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is just around the corner. A World Cup is not only about goals; it is a world entirely full of Intellectual Property. From the broadcasting rights that connect the world, to the merchandising protected by registered trademarks, to the technological variety of the balls protected by patents. Everything that draws us to sport is, legally, an ecosystem of copyright and industrial property — but at the center of that ecosystem are, above all, the athletes as a brand and image.
Today, figures like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo are corporations. They understood that their career on the field has an expiration date, but their name as a registered trademark is eternal. They monetize their identity because they own their Intellectual Property.
And looking at our own reality in El Salvador, we have role models who are already leading the way: Marcelo Arévalo in world tennis, Bryan Pérez in surfing, and Herbert Aceituno in powerlifting. But here the necessary question arises: are they protecting their personal brand with the same strength with which they represent our country?
As intellectual property attorneys, we are concerned to see how many of our athletes operate “in the air.” The most common mistake in El Salvador is believing that the brand belongs to the team or the federation. The athlete forgets that their face, their name, and their story are their own commercial assets.
Sometimes we think an athlete's success is measured only in medals, but as professionals in the field, we know that years of effort can be diluted in a single-page contract. Athletes must understand that their name is their only real patrimony.
At the end of the day, sport unites us, but Intellectual Property allows that unity to generate a sustainable future for those who make us dream.
Happy Intellectual Property Day!
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