Property Rights, Meet Marketing in China
May 23rd, 2007
In the US we tend to take property rights for granted, in addition to having a body of well developed law on our shelves and an independent judiciary to help us sort out property disputes between parties.
Not so in China.
See this WSJ article, China Sports Stars Face Hurdles in the Race for Ad Riches.
This is a great piece on how this issue is a mess and much more complex in China.
And it’s also interesting from a public policy standpoint which facets of these sports star contracts in China should be/not be enforceable and to what extent the talent of such sports stars can and should be “owned” as an enforceable property right.
If you were the judge, which side would you rule in favor of, and why? The athlete, or the state? If you ruled for the athlete, would you require as a condition that he/she return to the state a dollar amount that equals what the state invested in that athlete and how do you quantify such an amount?
These are some of the interesting issues your business attorney gets to work on and think about in dealing with contract disputes.
June 3 Professor Carr Addendum: A great NY Times article relating to the above just came out about Liu Xiang, the great Chinese 110 meter hurdler. See, A Runner Taking Each Hurdle as it Comess. He made $7 million US last year in endorsements alone! $7 million US is roughly equivalent to $56 million in China. Good for him. Seems like a good fellow.
9 Comments Add your own
1. Paul | May 23rd, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Diving Star Tian Liang had left the National Olympic Team, on one knows why expect the Olympics Diving Golden medal owner himself.
2. Chris Carr | May 24th, 2007 at 8:22 am
Paul,
Thanks for checking in.
Who is more famous or like a “god” in China:
Liu Xiang or Yao Ming?
I have sensed from friends in China that Liu Xiang easily wins out in China over Yao Ming on this issue. Do you agree?
3. Paul | May 24th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Yes, you are correct they are famous in the world,
and both of them are from Shanghai.
by the way, may i know what kind of this web is?
just for the trip in China?
4. Kerry Huang | May 25th, 2007 at 1:40 am
Since the state trained these athletes since they were children, it is expected that the state receives a portion of earnings. This similar to a venture capitalist seeking a return on investment. I think that the athletes should have creative control over who to advertise with and be able to negotiate compensation (with the full knowledge that a portion goes to the state). The athletes need the ability to make extra money through endorsements since according to the article, the government does not always fulfill its promise to financially support the athlete.
5. Chris Carr | May 25th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Good analogy.
6. Chris Carr | May 25th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Paul,
The primary, but not the sole, purpose of this blog is to allow an online learning format for our MBA China trip.
Having said that, we welcome the other purposes this blog serves and welcome involvement and comment from all across the world; although I did ban one fellow from the blog as his agenda really had nothing to do with how reasonable people use, access and participate in blogs.
Also, who do you think is more famous and loved IN China — Liu Xiang or Yao Ming?
7. Felipe | May 25th, 2007 at 10:02 am
Are athletes simply commodities?
This is still a question commonly asked in the US. In fact, these issues seem very similar to those faced by US athletes in the early 20th century - there was no free agency, contracts were long-term and could not be renegotiated, and teams even asserted influence over the personal lives of players. Paradoxically, ‘purists’ will go on ad nauseam about how this was when professional sports were at there best. Indeed, in terms of ‘real’ numbers - fan attendance, league profits, and fan loyalty were extremely high when compared to today’s standards. However, players got a very raw deal. It’s why many of the great players from that era died as paupers while owners reaped all of the benefits.
While I agree with Kerry in that the government (or any investor) should get a fair return on their investment, special consideration must be applied when dealing with people. Some of these obligations seem to tip toward indentured servitude or even slavery, which is clearly wrong. There should be clear and established limits on the rights that the government can impose upon players and there should be a time limit on these rights.
8. Chris Carr | May 25th, 2007 at 10:39 am
Good comment, Felipe.
Yes, they are commodities, but only at Notre Dame …
Kidding, of course!
9. Paul | May 27th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
To be honest, LIU Xiang would be more famous, for he was the first one in 110M Olympic in the world as a Chinese, at the same time Yao Ming maybe the one who are well know in US as an NBA player after many fathers’ efforts.
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed