This European Commission blog post from December 2022 highlights the vital role of intellectual property (IP) in major sports events, using the FIFA World Cup in Qatar as a prime example. It outlines how various types of IP such as patents for innovative sports technologies (like VAR and goal-line systems), trademarks for brands and athlete imagery, and copyrights for audiovisual content, are essential to protecting the commercial value of these global spectacles. The article emphasizes that without robust IP safeguards, companies risk infringement and loss of market opportunities.