Introduction: ‘Two million reasons not to wear Reebok’ -- The Commercial Monopoly in Sports Mega-Events -- Ambush Marketing of Sports Mega-Events -- Harnessing Special Laws to Protect Commercial Rights to Events -- Mega-Event Rights Protection and Intellectual Property Laws -- the legitimacy of ‘IP+’ event protection in light of the traditional theories of IP law -- Mega-Event Rights Protection and Competition (Antitrust) Laws -- Mega-Event Commercial Rights Protection and Human Rights -- Jumping on the Brand Wagon: ‘Association Rights’ and the Thematic Space of the Sports Mega-Event -- In Defence of the Monopoly? Conclusions.

This is the first book to focus critically on the legitimacy of legal responses to ambush marketing. It comprehensively examines recent sports mega-events and the special laws which combat ambushing. The approach of the book is novel. It does not blindly accept often-touted truisms regarding the illegitimacy of ambushing. The author argues that the debate concerning the ethics and legality of ambushing should be revisited, and that lawmakers have simply gone too far. This book will likely raise eyebrows in sports business circles, and not all readers will be comfortable with the implications of the author’s findings. It makes for an engaging read for anyone interested in sports law and the business of sport, including lawyers, academics, students, sports administrators and sponsorship and marketing practitioners, but especially lawmakers in sports mega-event host nations.   Dr. Andre M. Louw is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.   This book appears in the ASSER International Sports Law Series, under the editorship of Prof. Dr. Robert Siekmann, Dr. Janwillem Soek and Marco van der Harst LL.M.