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That may be the angle I would take if I was arguing the other side.
Feld may own the property rights for "Supercross" and all that OFFICIALLY happens within, but they do not own the rights that the individual competitors enjoy.
I seriously doubt that Feld and GoPro's stance would hold up in court if it ever came to that.
Also for the person mentioning it's not the camera but the product taken, that's not the case the team can not wear their own camera for them to use the footage without distribution.
But Titan, being a rider you know the answer to your question. It's night and day what you see from a basic video to what you see from a helmet cam perspective. You can see how specific ruts are forming and make later line choices based on what you saw developing in your helmet cam. You can also see exactly where kickers are forming in specific lines and a lot more
Like I said, the advantages are minute, but advantages none the less. I didn't say I thought it was a great argument, I just said IF I was to argue the other side, that may be the angle I would take. I even threw the patented
Bottom line is, if you have both POV and film from the stands you definitely have more data to study. And when fighting for 10ths anything helps.
My point was that I don't see much difference between we POV camera and a video camera in the stands. Both record "supercross footage", and both can be used to improve performance (be in minutely). If the cameras in the stands are allowed why aren't POV cameras?
I see where the promoters are coming from, and I can only say GoPro has capitalized on the system via big check. I also see where GoPro is coming from. They created the action cam market in MX-SX, At least what it is today, and they spent a ton of money to do it. I would be hell-bent on keeping other camera's out and protecting my investment if GoPro was my company. I would also be fighting to get in if I was the competition.
I also think the sport and the fans have benefited a lot because of GoPro's investment in it, so it's tough to be mad at them. I would never know what it's like to race and win a National or SX main event from start to finish if it wasn't for them. I have talked to a a lot of people, including my kids 10 yr friend just yesterday, that only know about MX because of GoPro vids.
Sponsorship agreements are a totally different animal.
By agreeing to operate under the agreed upon rules and regulations, the teams and riders are by nature consenting to any contractual obligations that Feld/the promoters create. Their stance would absolutely hold up in court, and I guarantee their is some waiver that must be signed before teams/riders are allowed to compete that states exactly that.
Teams and riders are held to the agreed upon rules and regulations of the sanctioning body and promoter as a condition of participation, true. But those rules must be consistent across the board and in this case they are not.
BTW, I think GoPro makes an incredible product and I love that brand. They don't need to stoop to exclusionary tactics to maintain their competitive edge.
Having logos/stickers on the bikes and riders and cans of Red Bull on the podium is different from what is actually happening on the track. You can advertise another product, but when it comes to racing, only GoPros can be used as helmet cams.
As a future law student I don't know much about contract law, but what I do know is that they are legally binding documents that hold a lot of weight in court. If you were arguing for the use of other cameras, you would have to prove that disallowing the use of other cameras/brands is highly detrimental to the riders. There may be a case to be made there, but it would be difficult.
Somewhere in that waiver/contract it must state that GoPro has exclusive rights for use of helmet cams and footage on and off the track. Nobody holds exclusive rights to sponsorships or advertisement, because no rider or company would agree to that, which allows other companies to advertise their products through logos, etc.
I don't necessarily agree with other cameras being disallowed, but those are the rules of the game. Yes, it does seem unfair, but until challenged it will just continue to be that way until a new contract is written.
I can't remember the last time I drank an energy drink but I am so over seeing Monster plastered over everything at SX that if I did choose to drink one, it would be a Red Bull.
I think the whole Monster thing at SX is an overload, actually it was kind of refreshing to not see it at Daytona!
As far as the Go Pro deal, I would definitely choose a different brand now after hearing about this bullshit.
Pit Row
But I didn't know they had a monopoly like this. And like everyone has stated its bullshit and they wonder why no other sponsors are clawing at the door of this sport.
That just because you have good taste Jeff.
Can you see the difference?
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