Let the Olympic [Trademark] Games Begin

With the 2016 Olympic Summer Games kicking off tomorrow, controversies over Olympic advertising rights are heating up. The United States Olympic Committee defends its legal rights to protect Olympic symbols and terms while athletes and sponsors battle Rule 40 of the Olympic Charter. Rule 40 outlines the Olympic Committee’s rights for their copyright over Olympic content. Consumers are forewarned that, “during a blackout period between July 27 and August 24, these non-Olympic sponsors, some of which may support athletes at the Games, also may not wish these individuals luck or congratulations on social media or in other marketing collateral.” Prior to the start of the blackout period, many Rio-bound athletes tweeted allusions to Rule 40 of the Olympic Charter expressing their opinions thereon. Rule 40 aims to preserve sources of funding for the International Olympic Committee as well as prevent commercialization of the games. The Rule comes into effect 9 days before the start of the games and lasts until 3 days after the Closing Ceremony. With the opening ceremony swiftly approaching, the controversy over Rule 40 is gaining momentum. A Runner’s World article recounts the controversy sparked at the last Olympic Summer Games, “At the 2012 London Games, the rule became a full-fledged controversy when athletes took to social media, saying that the IOC’s efforts to protect its official sponsors were restricting their ability to reward current sponsors and attract new ones. The hashtag #WeDemandChange took off, with high-profile track athletes such as Symmonds, Dawn Harper-Nelson, and Sanya Richards-Ross leading the way.”

The United States Olympic Committee has stood its ground, this year as well as during previous Olympic Games, maintaining that, “under federal law, the USOC has the right to use and control the commercial use of trademarks and logos related to the Olympic, Paralympic and Pan American Games.” The International Olympic Committee acknowledges the threat of ambush marketing and takes steps thereon to “protect the integrity of the Olympic symbols, the Olympic Games, and the investment of our official partners.” Recognizing that, “without the revenue and support of our broadcast partners and official marketing partners the Olympic Games would simply not happen.” The United States Olympic Committee chief marketing officer, Lisa Baird, has become the face of the USOC’s trademark protection, explaining to ESPN the reasoning behind restrictions on social media accounts run by commercial entities.

While the USOC follows trademark law by controlling Olympic logos as well as terminology in the United States, their practices have nonetheless upset many athletes, spokespeople, and sponsors alike. Nick Symmonds, a two-time Olympian and one of the primary faces of the anti-Rule 40 movement, believes Rule 40 inhibits him from providing proper thanks for his sponsors’ support, “it cheapens the investment that the sponsors have made in that athlete, if I go out to Rio and Brookes [Nick's sponsor] has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to get me there, it's my obligation to thank my sponsor." From the corporate side: New Balance spokesperson Amy Dow states, “we find the IOC's Rule 40 extremely frustrating and challenging to work with as a brand which wants to celebrate the many amazing achievements of our hard-working global athletes…It is also unfortunate that many athletes do not have the freedom or opportunity to support the brands that support them.” Sally Bergesen, founder and CEO of Oiselle (a sponsor of Olympic track-athlete Kate Grace) also addresses the likely monetary loss athletes face due to USOC trademarks, “It comes down to how the money is spent…I would be somewhat okay [with USOC marketing restrictions] if some of the money were getting to athletes. But the reality is, if it were not for small private entities who actually support athletes, you’d have a beautifully branded stadium with no athletes in it.”