Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The opposition will be supporting the Major Sporting Events (Indicia and Images) Protection Bill 2014. The intent of this bill is to protect major sporting event sponsorship and licensing revenue from being undermined by unauthorised commercial use of the event indicia and images—that is, the logos for the sporting events. This bill is entirely consistent with previous approaches taken by the Commonwealth government. When we legislated to protect this IP for both the Sydney Olympics and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, there were separate acts in advance of those events. Probably the one difference is that we are seeking to protect three events through this bill: the Asian Football Confederation's Asian Cup, which is due to commence early in 2015; the International Cricket Council's Cricket World Cup, also to be held in 2015; and the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

These are all incredibly significant sporting events for Australia. The Cricket World Cup is in partnership with New Zealand, so the matches will be held both here and in New Zealand. The Asian Football Confederation's Asian Cup is a partnership across the three eastern states and the ACT. It is not a whole-of-nation event but will no doubt preoccupy many a community—and I will come back to that. The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, will be a fantastic opportunity for both Queensland and the Gold Coast to showcase not only the beautiful environment up there—the beaches—but also their facilities.

As a former sports minister, I know there has been very intense lobbying from the Queensland government seeking support from the Commonwealth government for some of their facilities. The facilities are very important for these major events. In fact, I want to take this opportunity to lament the one facility the Queensland government did not support, and that was the practice ramp for our aerial skiers. We did fund this in the previous government but the funding for that was overruled by the newly elected Newman government in Queensland. That is unfortunate because such a facility, though not a competition facility, would have contributed to a very innovative approach to our Winter Olympics effort in another sphere.

Australia has a fantastic reputation internationally for being able to host international events. The Sydney Olympics set a major benchmark in quality sporting events. I had the immense privilege to attend the London Olympic Games, as the then sports minister, where I saw in full force the legacy of what we were able to establish through our performance and the organisation of the Sydney Olympics. The then UK sports minister, Sir Hugh Robertson, took every available opportunity to acknowledge the inspiration and leadership that Australia had provided in its organisation and approach to the Sydney Olympic Games. Sir Sebastian Coe, the lead organiser for the London Olympics, reflected on being inspired by not just the Sydney Olympics but also the Sydney Paralympics. Both in Sydney and in London the Paralympics assumed an enormous level of prominence. I acknowledge particularly following the experience in London the way in which the community responded to the opportunity to be a part of that event, to fill the stadia for the Paralympic events. Whereas the practice in the past had been that it would be the second event that followed the Olympics, the feeling in London, inspired by the Sydney Olympics, was that they were partnership events, equally important and certainly equally prominent in the minds of the community.

All of these events are supported by an enormous army of volunteers. These three events, the Asian Cup, the Cricket World Cup and I know the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, will be supported by a veritable army of dedicated volunteers. Australians usually involved in their own sport in some shape or form, although not necessarily so, take annual leave and devote their time to making sure these sporting events go off without a hitch. The esprit de corps that exists within the volunteer workforces of major sporting events like this I think is part of what we celebrate most with our credentials in hosting major sporting events.

It is worth taking the time to reflect on why these sensible protections are required. For the major sponsors and the commercial entity that support such events there is a business case and an economy sitting around that. Being able to recoup and commercialise the formal merchandise, for example, and promotion of these events becomes a critical part of the business case. We would be fools to think that these business cases would stand up without this protection. Whilst quite often I find myself in the area of public debate arguing against some of the more draconian applications of IP law, in this case I certainly stand proudly to support this application of protection of intellectual property in the form of the images and indicia that surround these major events. Restrictions will apply only to unlicensed commercial use of the protected material and images. The aim of this test is to prevent unauthorised users from applying the protected indicia and images to suggest a formal association with the events. In this way it is about preventing exploitation or abuse of it. The events themselves will be very popular and will be highly promoted, but only through that formal relationship with the entities will those things be able to be used.

We also support the exceptions that are noted in the bill that will, for example, recognise existing commercial arrangements and allow the use of those images for criticism and review and allow an athlete to make factual statements about their own achievement. So it is not a total bedding down of it but it is right in the middle of what constitutes reasonable use.

All in all, I think we are in a really exciting place for a big year in sport next year. To dwell a little on the World Cup cricket and the Asian Cup, both of these events occur very early in the year and not too far apart. I know there is an enormous amount of work being done by particularly the Football Federation of Australia and the organising committee that has been established for the Asian Cup. I commend all of that work and the contribution that I know many sportspeople and volunteers are making to that effort. With regard to the Cricket World Cup, there is a joint organising committee involving both New Zealand and Australia. There has been an enormous amount of work behind the scenes, as the former minister for sport I know, between Commonwealth bodies and their sister or brother entities in New Zealand to make sure that the event is not only successful but logistically is run as smoothly as can possibly be achieved. In this way Australians will have the opportunity to see some of the best football, or soccer, in the world here on our shores in our stadiums and indeed some of the best cricket in the world. I know that Senator Moore for one will be very interested in what is going on. She likes her cricket.

Finally a word on the Commonwealth Games. Australia has a fantastic reputation in world sport. We take pride in being a clean sporting country. We take pride in being the best. We always strive to be the best and I have been guilty of late to put on some bets which I did not win but I have also made more bets with the best of intentions with my political counterparts in other countries, particularly the UK, backing in Australian talent. I hope to get the opportunity to do that again soon. Most of all I commend this bill to the Senate and in doing so acknowledge the enormous amount of work that has gone on both within the bureaucracy in the lead-up to these events within the sporting organisations and the organising committees that are contributing to them. To be quite opportunistic, I say to the Australian teams participating in these events: good luck.

Scott Ryan (Victoria, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Lundy for her contribution to this bill. The purpose of the bill is to protect major sporting event sponsorship and licensing revenue from being undermined by unauthorised commercial use of event indicia and images for the following events: Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup 2015, International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup 2015 and Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Major events have long been targets of those who would seek to create an impression of association with the event in order to achieve commercial gain without having purchased the rights to claim that association. This bill protects against such activities and is consistent with the legislative approach taken for previous major events including the Sydney Olympics and Melbourne Commonwealth Games in the protection of indicia and images. The bill will protect the use of a range of words and expressions associated with each event from ambush marketing and unlicensed commercial use in the lead-up to and during each major sporting event. The proposed legislation is also intended to be complementary to existing or proposed legislation in states and territories that may be put in place in relation to these events.

While it is important to protect sponsors from ambush marketing, the right of the community to freedom of expression and for businesses to use their own intellectual property rights must also be respected. The bill contains a number of pragmatic exceptions and fully protects the rights of the existing holders to use indicia to carry out their business functions. Each schedule of the bill will cease to have effect within one year after the completion of each major sporting event as prescribed in the bill. I commend the bill to the Senate.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.