Patent holder for Qatar stadium cooling technology issues copyright warning
Aspire Zone Foundation issues daily adverts in UAE papers over ‘intellectual property rights relating to its engineering concepts’
Aspire Zone Foundation has issued warnings over its copyright over the cooling technology being used for the Qatar stadiums.
RELATED ARTICLES: Clifford Chance to advise on Qatar 2022 projects | Qatar will control heat during World Cup | Construction of first Qatar World Cup stadium begins
Aspire Zone Foundation, the patent holders of the heavily publicised stadium cooling technology that Qatar intends to use for the 2022 World Cup, has issued a warning against potential copyright infringement for its technology.
Daily adverts in UAE papers have seen the firm reiterate that it is the ‘exclusive owner of intellectual property rights relating to the innovative engineering concept concerning the design of the new air-conditioning control system inside football courts and open spaces’.
Aspire’s stadium cooling technology played a central role in Qatar’s winning bid to host the Football World Cup in the summer of 2022. It was tested successfully in September 2012 when the FIFA inspection committee saw the technology in action in a show stadium in Qatar.
The advertisements cautioned any company, foundation, natural and legal persons against dealing with any entity for the purchase, import and installation of their patented systems.
“The company reserves all its legal rights, both civilly and criminally against whoever deals in such units or devises with no prior approval from Aspire Zone Foundation,” the company said in its statement.
By harnessing solar power, the system is expected to reduce the high summer temperatures to a pleasant 27?C.
Summer temperatures in Qatar can reach as high as 50°C, meteorological reports have shown.
Each of the 12 stadiums, training facilities and fan zones will be equipped with this cooling technology.
Earlier media reports have said that the cooling would originate from under-seat fans, which will be further aided by the design of the stadium with moveable stadium roofs that can be closed to keep the intense heat out.
Experts believe that such a technology has the potential to allow Gulf nations to host big sporting events more often, and around the year.
FIFA 2022 is scheduled to take place across seven host cities and 12 stadiums in Qatar, nine of which are being built for the occasion.
Three stadiums will be renovated before 2020 and the new stadiums will be completed by 2021.
