Canadian Olympics Bill Receives Royal Assent

On June 22, 2007 Bill C-47, the Olympic and Paralympic Marks Act, ( reported in a previous issue of E-TIPS®, "Canadian Government Set to Enact Special Restrictions on Olympic Words and Symbols", Vol 5, Number 18 , March 14, 2007), received Royal Assent. Section 3 of Bill C- 47 provides that,

3. (1) No person shall adopt or use in connection with a business, as a trade-mark or otherwise, an Olympic or Paralympic mark or a mark that so nearly resembles an Olympic or Paralympic mark as to be likely to be mistaken for it. (2) No person shall use in connection with a business , as a trade- mark or otherwise , a mark that is a translation in any language of an Olympic or Paralympic mark.

Some commentators have wondered whether a commitment was made by Ottawa to enact this legislation as an inducement for the 2010 Olympic Games to be sited in Vancouver . The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) urged the enactment of Bill C-47 to enable it to act quickly to halt "ambush marketing" that is, an attempt by businesses that are not Olympic sponsors to associate themselves with the Games for profit. VANOC believes it would not be able to act quickly enough under Canada's existing trade-mark and copyright legislation. Under the existing legislation, in order to obtain an injunction, VANOC would be required to demonstrate "irreparable harm" to a trade-mark or copyright, injury that cannot be compensated for by monetary damages. Bill C-47 removes that hurdle Critics of Bill C-47 argue that the VANOC does not need additional legal protection. The Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC) has expressed concerned that Bill C-47 could create problems for businesses that only wish to express support for the Games. IPIC would prefer to see stronger legal remedies against counterfeiting, and does not agree that such measures should be specific only to the Olympics. For the full text of C-47 as passed by the House of Commons, see: http://tinyurl.com/38xl7j For commentary on Bill C-47, visit: http://tinyurl.com/2tokgv Summary by: Abigail Browne