COM Nov. Congress and remains a private, non-profit organization. See, e. Tobyhanna Camp Corp. Then, beginning in , the Winter and Summer Olympics alternate in even numbered years. Note that the authority of the federal government to create a private corporation to carry out a public purpose emanates from the Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution, U.
Maryland, 17 U. Nish, How Far have We Come? Internet Issues As expected, the advent of the Internet has created numerous challenges which have revealed trademark and consumer protection issues generally.
As a result, Congress amended the Lanham Act by passing the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act ACPA in to prevent a cybersquatter from registering a web domain name in order to profit from the name or mark in bad faith and to prevent the likelihood of consumer confusion.
Olympic Environment A. Infringement Examples: U. The USOC has been quite proactive in protecting its exclusive rights and marks, and the USOC annually protects its intellectual property rights over the exclusive commercial use of the word Olympic by sending cease and desist letters to alleged violators.
Meanwhile, typosquatting is a form of cybersquatting in which an owner speculates that someone will misspell an otherwise legitimate domain name and purchases that variation on the name in order to make a profit.
For example, registering the domain name Goggle. When the Complainant learned about the registration, it sent a demand letter to the Respondent, seeking the transfer of the domain name to it on the basis that only the London Organising Committee and entities licensed by it were permitted to use representations likely to suggest an association between traders and their goods and services and the London Olympics, under the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act Intelicense Corp.
United States Olympic Comm. Utilizing the varied demography of likes and interests of the spectators to ultimately cater to the tastes of the otherworldly game of competing sponsors is something to look out for. This competition extends to all mega-events. The FIFA World cup saw 36 female supporters advertising the Dutch non-alcoholic beer brand Bavaria, which tried to create an image of being the official patron, even though Carlsberg and Budweiser had secured the position of being the official sponsors for the event.
Although the stunt subsided eventually, it created a stir as the news associating Bavaria with the world cup reached the netizens and the public. The campaign centered around highlights from previous Olympic events that celebrated the successful athletes hailing from Jamaica, South Africa, and Ohio. The two archrivals have a significant share in the Chinese dairy products market; sponsoring the Olympics would yield savory benefits to their businesses as Chinese consumers are primarily motivated to consume foreign premium brands and products.
Coming to the incident, a Yili dairy WeChat post on June 20, , read on how Mengniu managed to get anchored by Coca-Cola, which is the Olympics official non-alcoholic beverages partner, ultimately gaining back door access to the sponsorship bonanza.
With the Tokyo Olympics set to occur in less than a month, uncertainty has loomed over many sponsors as they struggle to proceed with pre-pandemic ways of advertising.
Hopefully, they will provide clear guidance. If the IOC came out with a brilliant way of phrasing what a non-Olympic advert is, and this is seen to strike the right balance, then it may be that other major events follow their lead and seek to adopt similar rules.
How it ultimately gets instituted will be interesting. Sporting events such as the Olympics, World Cup and the Super Bowl are attracting bigger and bigger audiences across the globe. The internet adds another dimension to how people interact with these events—watching them or participating in a global discussion about them.
Brands see the value of this in following the general public onto platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and contribute by bringing humour and light-heartedness to the conversation. The result is that brands can interact with consumers in an informal way and add to the goodwill of their image.
But there is a fear that companies unaffiliated with the Games will use the same platforms to falsely associate themselves with them.
While many athletes will hope the changes can allow them to monetise their image and sponsorship rights more, official sponsors will be fearful that it opens up the chance for ambush marketing campaigns. It is important the IOC gets the balance right, as otherwise there may be bigger battles involving the organisation, athletes and brand owners to come.
Advertising companies are not subject to the Charter, but athletes risk disqualification if there is infringement. Realistically though, the Olympic Games is not going to be denied its biggest stars, and so athletes can apply for exemptions from the rule, in particular if the advertising company is a Games sponsor or partner. I would get them to try and wear the T-shirts inside out. If that does not work, then I would use masking tape to cover up the advertisement. The point is to make sure it is not visible on television.
Sponsors pay a lot of money for the Olympics and they are entitled to protect their investment. When you buy an Olympic ticket you are entering into a contract with the organising committee. But then, the likely absence of, or else severe restrictions on the numbers of spectators and the traditional Games entourage that attend the Tokyo Games in person, due to COVID, may have an inadvertent impact on the availability of ambush marketing tactics that brands have pursued for previous Games and other international events.
Any would-be ambush marketers should tread very carefully before running any such campaigns, however innovative, humorous, sophisticated or creative they might be. That said, publicity that might be associated with the official response to an ambush marketing campaign could, in some circumstances, actually serve to further promote the unofficial brand.
Some may therefore still feel that it could be a risk worth taking. Our IP specialists work at all stage of the IP life cycle and provide strategic advice about patent, trade mark and registered designs, as well as any IP-related disputes and legal and commercial requirements. We have an easily-accessible office in central London, as well as a number of regional offices throughout the UK and an office in Munich, Germany. All rights reserved.
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