Trademark rights relating to the 2006 FIFA World Cup continue to keep lawyers busy in Germany. The country’s Federal Supreme Court ruled two weeks ago that the designation “Fussball WM 2006” cannot be protected, opening the door for possible damage claims by 15 “global partners” and five “national promoters” of the tournament who have paid more than €10 million each to football’s governing body for this and other sponsor’s privileges.

WM stands for “Weltmeisterschaft,” which means World Cup in German. Acting on a complaint made by Ferrero, a manufacturer of candy which wanted to use the WM 2006 mark without negotiating any rights with FIFA, the German court was also asked to endorse FIFA’s and its sponsors’ claims to the “WM 2006” script, but the court referred those claims back to the German federal patent court. The issue here is trickier because WM could refer to other world tournaments being held in Germany this year in the areas of table tennis and hockey.

This same court had already ruled in August 2005 that the “WM 2006” script could be protected by FIFA for a wide range of products and services, and this will remain the case until the patent court looks at the dispute afresh. FIFA points out that “WM 2006” enjoys further protection as a “community trademark” in Europe and as a “special commercial designation” in Germany.

FIFA is fighting for its rights in all languages and all over the globe, but most vehemently in Germany because it is the venue of the World Cup this year. The use of the “WM 2006” tag has already been prohibited by German courts for certain T-shirts and for shower gel, independently of the latest Supreme Court ruling, but various sponsors, including Adidas, have reportedly accepted a good dose of ambush marketing by non-sponsors such as Lufthansa as part of the game.

FIFA is planning to reduce from 15 to six the number of sponsors for the next World Cup, hoping to raise €300 million from them. Meanwhile the International Olympic Committee has obtained increased protection for its trademark rights in the UK in expectation of the 2012 Games. A law passed in England last March forbids unauthorized associations of individual words such as “2012” and “Games.”