BRAND SPONSORSHIP AND IMMORAL EARNINGS

Sports sponsorship, an important area of trade mark and trade name licensing practice, just keeps hitting the news. Earlier this month the IPKat blogged the crude and unsuccessful attempt of the Jordan Formula 1 team to persuade a court that telecom giant Vodafone had agreed to sponsor it (see our archive for 5 August). This morning we bring you the curious tale of how a German women's football team is being sponsored by a brothel.



Teutschenthal players will take to the field sporting shirts recommending that their fans visit X-Carree. The slogan “X-Carree: Always Worth a Visit” will be emblazoned across the player's chests, reports South African website Independent Online.The brothel, owned by a real estate firm in the eastern city of Halle, agreed to pay for the women's new grey and red kits. Coach Andreas Dittman commented: "The women have no problem with it".



The IPKat comments: “In the past, when sport had a more wholesome image, it would have been unthinkable for a sports team to accept payment for the use of a brothel’s trade mark. But things have changed. Sport has become so tainted with scandals over drugs, bribery and cheating, while prostitution has become more widely legalised and tolerated. The main surprise here is that a brothel is ready to risk damaging its reputation by being associated with a sports team”.



Beds in Halle: reputable etablishments here and here

Prostitution in Halle: click here, here and here for a historical perspective

More information about Halle here and here