This archive report was first published on 18 October 2019.
On October 18, 2019, Eliud Kipchoge, the world's greatest marathoner, made history by becoming the first person to run a full marathon in under two hours.
However, Kipchoge's achievement was overshadowed by a controversy surrounding his brand rights. A local radio station, NRG, had promised to gift a BMW i8 to Kipchoge if they hit 1 million followers on Instagram and even changed their name to KipchogeRadio.
But Kipchoge's lawyer, Donald Kipkorir, fired back at the station, accusing them of violating his client's brand, privacy, copyright, and trademark rights.
According to the demand letter, the radio station had fraudulently informed their listeners and followers that by following them on Instagram, they would gift Kipchoge a car. However, Kipchoge never asked for or required any gifting of a car.
The use of Kipchoge's name, image, and reputation was a blatant violation of his brand rights, privacy, copyright, and trademark rights, the letter stated.
