AIP successfully reducing false advertising

ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 Inc. has been making significant strides in its Anti-Infringement Programme (AIP) - particularly against websites which have been falsely advertising tournament tickets for sale.

Recent correspondence from officials at ICC CWC WI 2007 Inc. headquarters in Jamaica has resulted in four out of five websites desisting from this practice.

"We have been receiving reports about websites that were purporting to offer tournament tickets and, with the assistance of our internet monitoring company, we have been able to contact these websites and inform them that their actions were in breach of our commercial rights," explained ICC CWC 2007 Project Officer - Anti-Infringement Programme (AIP) Alanna Medford.

"We have had favourable responses to date, with four websites ceasing their unauthorised advertising of match tickets."

She added that ICC CWC WI 2007 Inc. would continue to be vigilant - using internet searches and other methods - to detect infringements.

"The use of the official tournament marks, such as the logo, is reserved solely for Official Global Partners, Official Sponsors and licensees of the tournament," noted Medford.

The lawyer reminded fans that tournament tickets are not yet on sale and that Public Ticketing starts on May 1. Tickets will only be available through officially authorised ICC CWC 2007 Ticket Centres and the tournament website: www.cricketworldcup.com.

"Tickets which are purchased through unofficial channels may be deemed invalid, meaning that the purchaser would be unable to enter the stadium. Tickets offered for sale by unauthorised entities may have been lost or stolen. It is therefore best not to buy any tickets from such sources as you may lose a lot of money, could be denied entry to matches and not be entitled to any refund," elaborated the AIP Project Officer.

"We want to ensure that, when people pay for tickets, they actually get what they pay for, at the price which has been officially stipulated."

Stressing that the nine Local Organising Committees (LOCs) are depending on Ticketing revenue to ensure the future of cricket regionally and to improve the sport's infrastructure and programmes, Medford said: "Our Anti-Infringement Programme is designed to protect the interest of the LOCs, where tickets are concerned.

"Therefore, we encourage the public to report any instances of unauthorised ticket sales for ICC CWC 2007, including scalpers. It is only with your help that we can address these issues effectively."

NOTE: All cases of suspected infringement against ICC CWC WI 2007 Inc. should be reported to ICC CWC 2007 Commercial Manager Stephen Price (stephen.price@cricketworldcup.com) or ICC CWC 2007 Project Officer - AIP Alanna Medford (alanna.medford@cricketworldcup.com). Both can be reached at (876) 929-9011 or 960-8580 or 926-1756