Mascots, symbols of Congresses
The mascot of each international Sports Games, from SEA Games to Olympics, is a symbol with its own identity of the tournament. Each mascot created through creative process and design is a protected intellectual product, and also a souvenir item for coaches and athletes.
The mascots of SEA Games 22 (2003) and SEA Games 31 (2022) have both become memorable symbols. The Golden Buffalo mascot represents SEA Games 22, while Sao La is the mascot of SEA Games 31. Artist Ngo Xuan Khoi shared that the Sao La mascot is imbued with Vietnamese folk culture, combining traditional elements and the message of protecting wildlife. This mascot was registered for intellectual property before being announced.
Recently, the Intellectual Property Office (Ministry of Science and Technology) shared content expressing the protection of intellectual property rights for mascots and symbols of the Olympic Games based on references from WIPO.
In which, although the goods are commercial, the mascot is "specificizing the Olympic spirit, spreading the values emphasized at each congress; promoting the history and culture of the host city, bringing a festive atmosphere to the event". Although representing the spirit of freedom, the mascot is not allowed to be used freely. The Olympic Games are events strictly protected by intellectual property rights.
Intellectual property and sports: Ready - Start - Innovation
This year, World Intellectual Property Day April 26 focused on the theme "Intellectual Property and Sports: Ready - Start - Innovation". Taking sports as the center of intellectual property-related content, which is considered a science and technology-oriented field, is not surprising.
Because reality shows that sports are developing rapidly, with great tastes and very different changes. The sports market is a market that creates economy and related products are greatly affected by counterfeiting, causing brands, manufacturers and people working in the sports economy to be directly affected.
WIPO assesses that sports are a need of society. Therefore, the values of the sports sector must be protected and have intellectual property rights.
Data from the Intellectual Property Office (Ministry of Science and Technology) shows that as of April 2026, this unit received more than 14,914 applications for intellectual property registration of trademarks in the field of sports. Of which, Vietnamese enterprises accounted for 8,576 applications. Sports product manufacturers bearing Vietnamese brands register products to be protected exclusively, avoiding infringement due to the very potential domestic market development needs. Also from this unit, the National Football Championship V.League has 9 teams submitting applications for intellectual property logo registration.
