The IOC Takes Intellectual Property Protection Seriously

The 2004 Olympic Games in Athens have now come to an end, but during the period of the Games, it was clear that the International Olympic Committee Olympic (IOC) and its affiliates were prepared to take action to protect the Olympic name and trademarks. Corporations pay millions of dollars for international rights to use the Olympic name and the five interlocking rings in marketing campaigns and, naturally, they and the IOC are concerned about any unauthorized use. During the period that Olympic-related TV ads appeared, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) approached a number of major corporations because their ads could violate exclusive Olympic intellectual property rights. The COC raised concerns with the CBC because some of the themed segments of its TV broadcasts were sponsored by non-Olympic sponsors such as Air Canada, whose ads stated that it was a "proud sponsor" of the broadcast - which could have given the impression that Air Canada was an official Olympic sponsor. The COC also approached the Toronto Stock Exchange, whose ads included a line, later removed, that competition on the TSX "doesn't take place every four years [but] 365 days a year". Other IOC intellectual property concerns that surfaced: Web Site Links – Olympic organizers tried to tightly control linking to the official Athens 2004 web site by using a "hyperlink policy". According to the policy, anyone wanting to post a link was required first to send a request including a description of their site, the reason for linking, and the length of time it would be published. The policy also strictly regulated the text and graphics of a link. No BLOGS Allowed – The IOC barred competitors, coaches, support personnel and other officials from writing firsthand accounts for news and other web sites. Personal web sites not set up specifically for the Games were an exception. The IOC rationalized these restrictions as necessary to protect the interests of broadcast rights-holders and accredited media. Re-election Ads – A US Presidential re-election campaign ad had the US Olympic Committee claiming trade-mark infringement. The Committee wanted the ad pulled, in which an announcer says that at "this Olympics there will be two more free nations", referring to Afghanistan and Iraq. For related news stories, visit the following sites: http://makeashorterlink.com/?J51D23D29; http://makeashorterlink.com/?R23D32D29; http://makeashorterlink.com/?X44D51D29; or http://makeashorterlink.com/?I16D21D29. Summary by: Clare McCurley