With the conclusion of the European Championships in Germany, the attention of the sporting world has now turned to Paris, France, where the 2024 Summer Olympic Games have begun. As many athletes start to take home the gold medal for their nations, many IP lawyers will be watching proceedings with regards to possible infringement of valuable IP.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) holds many trademarks and designs that are protected around the world. For example, the terms “The Olympics”, “Olympic Stadium”, “Paralympic”, “World Olympians” and “Friends of the Games” are just some of the terms that have trademark protection. Such protection is also granted to national organizations, with the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) having the additions powers of an act of congress, allowing the USOC to retain the exclusive rights to terms such as “Olympic”, “Paralympic” “Citius Altius Fortius”, “Pan American”, “America Espiriot Sport Featernite” and many others. The USOC has always taken a proactive view with regards to enforcing their IP rights, for example a restaurant in Portland has had to be renamed from Olympic Provisions to Olympia Provision, while the Improv Olympic Theater was made to rename itself to iO Thater after an IOC led lawsuit in 2001, despite being unrelated to the field of sport. Even the use of such terms in online hashtags has been greeted by a stern response form the USOC.

Designs also compose a large part of the IP portfolio of the IOC, with the famous five interconnected rings symbol of the Olympics protected through a treaty of 1981 or in national legislation, for example in Germany and the United Kingdom. For example, during the games held in London in 2012, butcher who used a sign featuring the five Olympic rings made of sausage and a florist who created a paper tissue display of the Olympic rings were ordered to cease by the IOC as they lacked permission to use the Olympic sign. Other designs, such as the logo for the current Paris games were first protected as early as 2016, with trademarks incorporating the next two Olympic hosts, Los Angeles and Brisbane already having been registered.

It is clear that when it comes to IP protection, the IOC have definitely won the gold medal!