A regional conference exploring how Caribbean athletes can protect and profit from their personal brands and innovations was concluded in Saint Lucia recently.
Held under the theme Beyond the Game: Innovation, IP and Sports, the two-day event brought together athletes, sport administrators, educators, legal experts and international stakeholders to examine the role of intellectual property (IP) in the evolving world of sport.
Hosted at the Bay Gardens Hotel in Gros Islet, the conference featured keynote presentations, panel discussions, and hands-on sessions on topics like athlete branding, sports technology, and IP commercialisation. The goal was to equip participants with the tools to turn athletic success into sustainable careers.
Carol Simpson, officer in charge of the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s division for Latin America and the Caribbean, called it a timely conversation, given the success of Caribbean athletes like Julien Alfred, Roje Stona and Thea Lafond at the 2024 Olympics.
Simpson emphasised the importance of IP literacy for sportspeople seeking to become entrepreneurs and brand ambassadors.
“Really, it’s the successes that Saint Lucia and the region are enjoying now in terms of your athletes, your sportsmen and women,” she said.
“We want to inject into this success the dialogue on intellectual property.
“How do we protect the assets, the intellectual assets, the brands of our athletes, so that they can commercially benefit from the success that they’re seeing on the field? Because after the field, there’s life after; this is what we’re saying.”
The conference was hosted by the Government of Saint Lucia, in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the International Olympic Committee.
