Burgers, bunting and beer - a World Cup of opportunity?

The modern World Cup is as much about commerce as it is about sport, with the UK likely to see upwards of £1.5 billion in World Cup-related expenditure before the last kick of the final on 11 July.

Food and drink retailers are likely to benefit most, according to research firm Mintel, but one in ten football supporters is also planning to buy a replica shirt, flag or some other World Cup merchandise.

The biggest beneficiaries of this spending spree will be the corporates that have paid for sponsorship, advertising and merchandising rights. But there are opportunities for small firms to cash in on the World Cup spending spree, too - providing you can negotiate the tangle of intellectual property rules that come into play when creating and promoting World Cup-linked products and services.

Early pressure

Interest in football-themed goods and services goes through the roof during the four-yearly tournament. For Football Heaven, an online retailer of football merchandise, the World Cup provides a big spike in sales.

But the two-man firm has to cope with plenty of others muscling in on their market. "Every shop seems to find a section for football souvenirs all of a sudden," says founder George Mackie.

"We're lucky enough to have a good relationship with our suppliers as we give them business all year round, so we get loyalty back with speed of turnover when we need it," he continues. "But as we get busier, we have to work harder to make sure our standards are maintained."

You don't have to have a football-specific offer to cash in during the tournament either - a bit of clever complementary marketing can go a long way. Worcester-based Magic Whiteboard Shop has been using the World Cup to sell its blackout blinds, which are perfect for reducing screen glare while watching important matches. The company has picked up good custom, including an order from the Salvation Army, which is showing games in shelters.

Caught offside

So far, so easy: you have a product or service, you link it to the World Cup, you sell more. But it's just not that simple. All manner of World Cup words, phrases and images are protected by copyright and available for use only by licence holders - those big corporates that have stumped up the cash for the privilege.

Magic Whiteboard, for example, had initially positioned the Fifa World Cup logo next to their offer on their website. Managing director Neil Westwood changed the graphic as soon as he became aware of the breach of regulations.

"It's just silly - everyone uses it," he pointed out. "We thought it might not be OK but were not sure. You see it everywhere though, don't you? But small businesses don't want to enter lengthy, costly legal battles. They don't have the time."

Neil is right, you do see the 'official' imagery everywhere. But Fifa's guidelines are clear: only affiliated businesses have the right to use World Cup wording and imagery. If you engage in 'ambush marketing' - using someone else's copyright to promote your business - you are inviting prosecution.

The half-time team talk

So what exactly can and can't you do? There are plenty of can'ts. Unless you are an official sponsor or 'affiliated' business, you can't use words and phrase such as "Fifa World Cup" or "South Africa 2010" next to your product or service. Strictly speaking, you probably shouldn't even use "World Cup".

You can't use any official imagery or put the World Cup logo on your website unless you have the express permission of Fifa. You can't use the England football team's three lions badge. The rules are so strict that street traders near stadiums legally selling drinks that are not manufactured by World Cup sponsors are expected to decant them into unbranded bottles, so TV cameras don't pick up rival brands.

Is this fair? Should small firms be excluded from the commercial opportunities presented by the world's biggest sporting event because they can't pay the millions of dollars it might cost to get on the 'official' list? Andy Clayton, business development manager for Lincolnshire-based design agency The Energy Cell calls for common sense.

"On the one hand, Fifa has sponsors paying millions to be associated with the World Cup, but on the other there are many small businesses who want to jump on the back of the buzz that the World Cup creates," he reasons.

"Arguably, the small businesses would not impact on the sponsors' coverage so maybe they should relax the rules or give some amended guidelines as to who can use World Cup-associated wording."

A promising counter-attack

You are not completely powerless. You can think laterally. You can't use the England football emblem, but you can use the cross of St George which has no copyright holder. So, crafting something which combines the cross with general football terms is allowable. Fifa itself says "South Africa Soccer" is ok, but "South Africa 2010" is not. That's clear, isn't it?

One area where Fifa will struggle to touch you is online marketing. As much as they might want to, Fifa can't control Twitter, for example. Twitter hashtags around the event are more likely to be the concise #wc2010 or #worldcup than the wordy and official #fifaworldcup.

An orchestrated discussion around your brand on Twitter could reap rewards. But beware - consumers are savvy to clumsy attempts to cash in on someone else's party.

If you are showing a game in your pub or café, you can advertise it and make use of the flags of the nations involved (though even here it's worth being a little careful about the exact wording you use).

"They could use the words "World Cup" because everyone is entitled to say they're running events because of the tournament," explains Miles Rees, business development manager at the Intellectual Property Office. "But you'd need to be a licensed partner before you can use any of the trade marks."

The dreaded penalties

So, realistically, what is the likelihood of a small business being prosecuted for a breach of Fifa's intellectual property rights? According to football magazine FourFourTwo, by early May there had been 450 actions in South Africa alone, most settled out of court. As the tournament hots up, rights holders around the world will be looking to protect their investment.

"You run the risk of an IP owner taking action, but I suppose they have to weigh up whether they would be interested in spending money on lawyers to prevent it being used in a small, regionalised piece of marketing," says Miles, cagily.

"The law means they could be sued but whether they would be in reality depends on how litigious the IP owner is." As we've seen, however, Fifa and its partners may well be willing to scrap all the way to penalties on this one. As if that's not bad enough, just wait until the Olympics come around...

More on the World Cup and small businesses:

• Blog: Over-refreshed and misbehaving: the World Cup in the workplace

More intellectual property information:

• Intellectual property 
• Intellectual property disputes
• Blog: Worldwide trade mark registration