Enterprises warned not to run rings around Olympic IP

The ongoing Rio Games have seen a surge in Olympic-related advertisements and promotions from a range of different businesses, including restaurants introducing "Olympic set meals", drink brands holding activities about the Rio games and electronic appliance manufacturers putting up patriotic posters letting the country know that they are "Cheering for China".

Prior to all of this, however, the marketing department of the Chinese Olympic Committee issued an announcement on Aug 3 stating that companies using Olympic-associated elements for commercial purposes without permission are infringing the intellectual property rights of the Olympic Games organizers.

According to Rule 7 of the Olympic Charter, the Olympic symbols, including the Olympic flag and symbols, motto, anthem and identifiers, all belong to the International Olympic Committee.

The announcement stressed that unauthorized advertising or promotional activities not only damage the rights of Olympic trademark owners and their legal users, but also mislead consumers to believe that the company is an official sponsor of the Olympic Games, which amounts to false advertising.

Before the announcement, the Chinese Olympic Committee published several rules on its website, prohibiting the use of Olympic trademarks by unauthorized companies.

Despite numerous regulations and prohibitions, the violation of Olympic trademarks is nothing new. In 2008, the year of Beijing Olympic Games, more than 1,700 cases of illegal Olympic trademark usage were investigated and prosecuted, with potential value totaling more than 16 million yuan ($2.4 million).

This year, among the many businesses that have employed Olympic-themed commercial strategies, Only 10 Chinese companies have an official commercial relationship with the Rio Olympic Games and the Chinese Olympic Committee, including 361 Degrees and Anta sportswear, Gree electrical appliances, and Yili milk.

Li Yanjun, director of the legal affairs office at the Chinese Olympic Committee's marketing development department, said that they are now handling more than a dozen cases involving Olympic marketing.

The committee urged companies engaged in false advertising and marketing to cease and desist or face the prospect of investigation by relevant authorities, as well as potential legal action, according to the announcement.

The Chinese Olympic Committee has commissioned King& Wood Mallesons, a multinational law firm headquartered in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region that is in charge of Olympic trademark infringement affairs, to send notifications to three Chinese companies regarding the illegal use of Olympic IP.

"Big companies are more aware of where the red line is," said Liu Kai, a lawyer specializing in IP and TV media at Hunan Wensheng Law Firm. "They also have higher competence when it comes to Olympic-related marketing and advertising."

He added that it is easier to identify the illegal activities of big companies, which means that smaller companies might view such practices as being lower in risk, and may not even be aware that the unauthorized use of Olympic trademarks is illegal.

Yue Yunfan contributed to this story.

(China Daily 08/17/2016 page17)