Countdown to the Olympics

The Basics

As many of you will know there are legal ramifications if you refer to the Olympics, or use any of the prohibited wording or imagery, in your business advertising and marketing without permission.

You can infringe the Olympic Association Right if you use, in the course of trade, without authorisation, any representation likely to suggest to the public an association with the London Olympic games. These representations include, but are not limited to:-

Rings
Motto
Words

Or a combination of the following words or phrases:-

Summer
Games
2012
Two thousand and twelve
Twenty twelve
Gold
Silver
Bronze
London
Medals
Sponsor

This all applies now but it is important to note that the core blackout period is 18th July - 15th August when the rights will be enforced even more rigorously.

Any events that you publicise around the games are also likely to infringe the association rights.

Who Controls It?

LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games) will be particularly rigorous to any companies trying ambush marketing, they will take action against the company supplying products as well as any person actually agreeing to take part.

So where does this leave you?

You can still use themes of patriotism, generic sporting themes (one idea may be to use a combination of sports references including some sports which are not Olympic sports) and include references to past athletes who are not competing this year (but bear in mind you may need their permission to use references to them). It is ok to wish a particular team good luck in a specific event but be careful you don't do this for every single event.

It is ok to talk about the Olympic torch relay.

It is also worth noting that competitors in the games cannot endorse any use of their name for advertising within the blackout period described above.

Summary

You can have some leeway with your advertising and marketing but you will need to be imaginative in your approach in order to avoid any infringement a