The French Tennis Federation ensures that its rights as the organizer of the famous Roland Garros tournament are respected and prevents any third party from capitalizing on its reputation for commercial purposes, with the aim of riding on the coattails of this sporting event. Illustration.
The French Tennis Federation (FFT), organizer of the Roland-Garros tournament and owner of the eponymous French semi-figurative trademark, is suing the company Printemps for damages:
• for infringement of its exclusive right to exploit the tournament,
• for damage to the reputation of its trademark, and
• for acts of free-riding, for having broadcast, during a “Live Shopping”-style commercial promotion, excerpts from the 2014 and 2015 editions of the tournament and reproduced the Roland-Garros trademark in the form of a hashtag.
The court’s position
➡️ Infringement of exploitation rights: In its capacity as a federation and organizer, the FFT holds exclusive exploitation rights to the Roland-Garros tournament. Any economic activity intended to generate a profit—and which would not exist without the sporting event serving as its pretext or platform—constitutes an act of exploitation. The broadcast of excerpts from the tournament as part of a commercial “Live Shopping” event on the retailer’s website and social media platforms—which serve as means of attracting and retaining customers—is sufficient to constitute such acts, without it being necessary for the images to be easily identifiable.
➡️ Free-riding: the claim of free-riding is upheld. Given the legal monopoly held by the FFT and …
