BCCI seeks to extend IPL monopoly

April 2, 2013

IPL_monopolyNew Delhi, April 2: Notwithstanding a hefty penalty imposed on it by the Competition Commission of India for abusing its “dominant” position to promote its commercial interests in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has seemingly continued with its monopolistic financial practices.

On the eve of the IPL VI season, the BCCI, in a fresh note addressed to media houses across the country on March 29, asked them to desist from any activity that could amount to using any IPL logo or content in a way that might be deemed to be a commercially-driven activity.

Restrains print media

A newspaper, for instance, cannot use a third party to advertise on a news page dedicated to IPL coverage, or, no commercial logo can go along with a syndicated column, or a score-card sponsored by an advertiser, etc.

Stating that the BCCI enjoyed exclusive rights in these regards, the BCCI note stated that “it fully intends to and will enforce its rights against the unlicensed commercial utilisation by third parties of the IPL, names, IPL marks and IPL proprietary content in contravention of the rights granted by the BCCI-IPL to its sponsors.” It stated that the print media was allowed to utilise the official logo only for “journalistic, news reporting and non-commercial purposes.”

The note was sent out by Copyright Integrity Advisory (India) Pvt Ltd on behalf of the BCCI-IPL.

It may be recalled, on February 8, the commission, on a complaint from a cricket fan in Delhi, had held that the “BCCI has abused its dominant position in contravention of Section 4(2) (C)” of the Competition Act, 2002.

In its elaborate order, the commission had held that the BCCI, as a legitimate regulator of the game of cricket in India, was extending its monopoly regulatory powers in organising IPL, which is a private professional league.

In effect, the apex cricket body was using its monopoly regulatory powers for protecting its own commercial interests, it had said.

“The situation where the regulator is also the economic beneficiary leading to role overlaps is definitely a competition concern,” the commission had concluded.

Imposing a hefty penalty of Rs 52.24 crore on the BCCI, the commission had, in its order, directed it, among others, to “cease and desist from using its regulatory powers in any way in the process of considering and deciding any matter relating to its commercial activities.”

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Agencies
April 12,2020

London, Apr 12: Former Formula 1 legendary driver Stirling Moss died at the age of 90 on Sunday.

"All at F1 send our heartfelt condolences to Lady Susie and Sir Stirling's family and friends," Formula 1 said in a statement.

Often referred to as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, Moss contested 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes, where he famously formed a contented and ruthlessly effective partnership with lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

In his 10-year-long stint at the tracks, Moss took 16 wins, some of which rank among the truly iconic drives in the sport's history - his 1961 victories in Monaco and Germany in particular often held up as all-time classics.

Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia on public roads for Mercedes at an average speed of close to 100mph, while he also competed in rallies and land-speed attempts.

Following an enforced retirement from racing (barring a brief comeback in saloon cars in the 1980s) after a major crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss maintained a presence in Formula 1 as both a sports correspondent and an interested observer, before retiring from public life in January of 2018.

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News Network
June 13,2020

Melbourne, Jun 13: Former Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist and current opener David Warner have expressed gratitude to two Indian students for helping people in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gilchrist thanked Sharon Varghese, an Indian student who did her Bachelors in Nursing from the University of Wollongong.

Varghese has been was working on the frontline along with other health care workers to look after the residents of aged-care during the global health crisis.

"She gave up her time to work as an aged-care worker throughout that time. Sharon, I want to say congratulations on the selfless act and for wanting to thank people in Australia because you have enjoyed three and a half years living here. And that’s wonderful to hear," Gilchrist said in a video message.

"Just want to let you know, all of Australia, all of India and more importantly, your family will be so very proud of your efforts."

In another short video, Warner thanked Queensland-based Indian student, Shreyas Sheth.

"Namaste. I am here to say thank you to Shreyas Sheth who is doing selfless work to help others during the COVID crisis. Shreyas is doing his Masters in Computer Science at the University of Queensland and he has been part of University’s outreach program, preparing and delivering food packets to students in need right now," Warner said in the video.

"So I just want to say ‘good on ya’. I am sure your mum and dad and India are proud of you. Keep up the great work."

The videos were shared by Austrade India official twitter account, which have hit almost 10 thousand views in last one week.

Apart from the two cricketers, another Social Media Influencer Amy Aela also sent her thank you note to Liya, an Indian student from Griffith university for her work in providing mental health support to communities in Australia during the pandemic.

"Liya I just want to thank you...we definately need more people like you...just remember that Australia is so so proud of you, India is proud of you..please keep up the good work," Aela said.

Former Australian footballer Craig Foster also sent his thank you message to another Indian origin nurse Arushi from Deakin University. More than 100,000 Indian students are studying in Australia, currently making them one of the biggest cohorts of international students in the country.

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News Network
May 30,2020

New Delhi, May 30: Former world chess champion Viswanathan Anand will be finally reaching India late on Saturday after being stuck in Germany for over three months due to the travel restrictions imposed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Yes.. Anand will be returning today," the chess maestro's wife Aruna told PTI on Saturday morning. Anand, who boarded an Air India flight (AI-120) from Frankfurt on Friday night will reach Bengaluru via Delhi.

He is expected to reach Bengaluru at 1.15 pm. The five-time world champion will undergo 14 days quarantine as per rules laid down by the Karnataka government.

"He will complete quarantine procedures and come to Chennai as per protocol," Aruna Anand said. The flights from Germany are only scheduled to land only in Delhi and Bengaluru.

The chess ace was in Germany to play in the Bundesliga chess league and was to return to India, but was forced to stay put after the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted sporting schedules across the globe, apart from restricting movement.

He was staying near Frankfurt and was doing online commentary for the Candidates tournament which was called off mid-way due to the pandemic and led the Indian team in the Online Nations Cup early this month.

Anand had been in touch with his family in Chennai on a regular basis via video calls and kept himself busy with chess-related work.

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