Athletes should view brand and image rights as a long-term avenue of income, says the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO).

“The thing is anticipating what may come because you don’t want to find yourself in a position where all of a sudden your name is all over the place and everybody is benefitting except you,” Sophia Clarke, JIPO’s copyright and related rights manager, told reporters and editors during the Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange held at the tabloid’s Beechwood Avenue headquarters.

Intellectual property rights refers to creations of the mind. Some common types of these rights are trademark, copyright, patents, and design rights.

Intellectual Property Week 2016 will be observed between April 24 and 29.

JIPO says athletes should prepare to cash in, even after retirement, since professional sporting careers rarely last beyond a handful of years.

“It’s also about having a business mind and thinking about what’s going to come after I finish running, or whatever it is that I’m doing. My name is still going to have some weight, is still going to carry some value, and so I need to do something to secure it now,” explained Clarke.

JIPO Executive Director Lilyclaire Bellamy supported Clarke’s view.

“You need to look long-term…so when you finish track and field, you hang up your track shoes and you’re hanging up all of your physical labour, but you have that trademark which somebody may want to use.

“Quite a few of the more established athletes have [registered], but a lot of the new and emerging ones who I see great potential in haven’t,” Bellamy said.

Jamaica’s sprint queen Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is said to be among those who have secured a trademarkwhile utilising the strength of her name in business ventures.

However, Clarke insisted that sportsmen and women should not wait until they are superstars before registering with JIPO.

“It’s [important] for our sports [people] to recognise their own value, because a lot of the more established athletes have used the service…a lot of the younger ones we haven’t heard anything from. They feel like maybe they need to be in that level [of other Jamaican sporting stars]…to be able to do that [register],” Clarke told reporters and editors.

Bellamy says lack of “awareness” and the perception that “nothing will go wrong” with regard to brand and image exploitation are the main reasons many athletes have not protected their property rights.