First Riders Banned Under UCI's Biological Passport Scheme as WADA Oversees the Tour de France
The Italian cyclist Francesco De Bonis and the Spaniard Ricardo Serrano Gonzalez have become the first cyclists to be sanctioned for doping based on information produced under the World Anti-Doping Agency's ("WADA") new biological passport scheme. The scheme has been pioneered by the UCI, cycling world's governing body, having been implemented by WADA on 1 January 2010. |
Mutu Loses Second Appeal Against Chelsea Compensation Order
Adrian Mutu, the Fiorentina and Romania forward, has now lost a second appeal in the Swiss Federal Court to overturn the ruling by FIFA, football's world governing body, to award his former club Chelsea FC substantial compensation for breach of contract after he returned a positive drugs test in 2004. Chelsea terminated the player's contract in October 2004, claiming that his actions amounted to gross misconduct. Mutu must now pay Chelsea in the region of &euro17 million in damages. |
OFT Considering Visa’s Ticketing Arrangements for 2012
The Office of Fair Trading ("OFT") is considering whether to take action over the exclusive payment arrangements that have been granted to Visa in relation to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (the "2012 Games"). |
The “6 + 5” Rule Will not be Adopted, Says FIFA
FIFA's proposed home grown player quota (also known as the "6 + 5" rule), which intended to limit the number of foreign players in any club's starting line-up to five and was expected to be in place by 2012, has now been abandoned but Sepp Blatter insists that alternative ways of promoting home-grown players will be considered in the future. |
US Court Sides with YouTube in Viacom and Premier League Copyright Dispute
A New York Judge has ruled in favour of Google's video-sharing website, YouTube, in the copyright infringement lodged against it by rightsholders including Viacom and the Premier League. |
Listed Events Revolution put on Hold
The Minister for Sport and the Olympics, Hugh Robertson, has announced that a decision on whether to review and update the list of free-to-air sports events will be postponed until after the digital switchover process has been completed in 2012. |
ICC’s New Anti-Doping Measures Bring Cricket into Line with the WADA Code
The ICC's anti-doping code, which includes modified whereabouts rules, came into effect on 1 August 2010 after a period of protracted negotiations with the Board of Control for Cricket in India ("BCCI"). |
Usain Bolt Shuns London Race Meeting for Tax Reasons
100m World Record holder Usain Bolt has announced that he will not compete at the Aviva London Grand Prix meeting in August. It has been reported that the reason is the UK's tax regime which makes it unviable for him from a financial perspective to compete in this particular event in this country. |
Fixture Lists and Database Copyright - Life after William Hill v British Horseracing Board
In a much anticipated decision, the English High Court has ruled in the case of Football Dataco Limited v Brittens Pools and Yahoo! that football fixture lists may be protected by a form of UK copyright, database copyright. However, other forms of protection, notably the EU wide database right, were held not to apply to the fixture lists in question. |
UEFA Takes Decoders of Champions League and Europa League Content to European Courts
UEFA has been successful in having its application granted for a referral to the EU Court of Justice of various questions relating to copyright infringement arising from the use of satellite decoder cards supplied by Euroview Sport Limited. |
Umpire Decision Review System Used in England for the First Time
The England and Pakistan cricket boards have decided to use the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) for this summer's Test series, representing the first time the referral system has been used in a Test match in England. |
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Recent Work | |
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Bob Mitchell and Paul Groves advised DEWALT, a leading manufacturer of industrial power tools, in respect of its appointment as an official partner of the RFL for the 2010 season.
Bob and Paul also advised Burrda, an international sportswear manufacturer, in relation to its appointment as the Official Club Sponsor and Official Kit Supplier of Watford FC as well as its appointment as Official Kit Supplier to Leicester City FC. Burrda has also been appointed as the Official Kit Manufacturer of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and of Northampton Saints in rugby's Aviva Premiership for the upcoming season.
We also advised Chelsea Football Club and its Head of Communications, Steve Atkins, in relation to the obtaining of damages and a public apology from The Mail on Sunday in relation to a story regarding their supposed involvement in an alleged cover-up relating to a Chelsea player's private matters.
Bob Mitchell and Anil Matharu advised Diageo in relation to its sponsorship of the Sky Sports 3D Pub Channel through its Guinness brand.
We advised FIFA in relation to brand protection for itself and its partners around the recent 2010 FIFA World Cup South AfricaTM.
Paul Cairns advised EA SPORTS on its recently announced arrangements to become the first Sports Technology Partner of the Premier League, together with the renewal of its exclusive videogames licence to create official Premier League games.
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