The 2012 London Olympics has seen unprecedented rights given to the organisers, LOCOG, who are responsible for the preparation and staging of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games, to protect their brand. In addition to extensive protection of the Olympic symbols such as the 5 rings a new Act of Parliament has been passed which prohibits any person from creating any association between a business, goods or services and the London 2012 Olympics (or Paralympics) without LOCOG's consent.
Interestingly LOCOG sought to gain even further protection through normal trade mark law by seeking a wide range of trade marks. Included within these applications originally made in June 2007 was a mark for the number ‘2012’ itself. Such a trade mark would in theory have given wide powers to LOCOG to prevent any other business using the number 2012 in relation to its products or services. Reassuringly, this application appears to have finally been abandoned in the last couple of months after the Intellectual Property Office indicated that they were likely to refuse the application.
This serves as a useful reminder that trade marks must be distinctive and that there are limits even to what large organisations can register, although the records do indicate that LOCOG is currently seeking to register a trade mark for the words ‘Get Set’. It will be interesting to see how the Intellectual Property Office responds to this mark which on its face would not appear very distinctive.
Although we have yet to see any significant cases relating to the enforcement of LOCOG’s rights we can expect to see them using their significant powers to prevent unauthorised merchandising and associations with the Olympics as 2012 gets closer. I would strongly advise any business considering making any reference to the Olympics, however indirect, to take advice before launching a new product or service.
If you require any advice on any of the issues raised in this article please do not hesitate to contact James Tarling or another member of the company commercial team at
commercial@steeleslaw.co.uk
or on 01603 598000.