La Propriété Intellectuelle – Intellectual Property considerations for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic games

18 July 2024

As the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic games (2024 Games) are due to kick off in Paris very soon, there are a number of rules and regulations that New Zealand businesses need to be aware of before using intellectual property relating to the 2024 Games in advertising and promotions.

Even though the 2024 Games are taking place on the Seine rather than the Waikato, the usual laws relating to passing off, fair trading, and intellectual property infringement still apply, and there are several avenues by which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) can take steps in New Zealand to enforce their intellectual property rights.

With this in mind, we have set out some guidance on how businesses can avoid getting caught offside, and ensure they are playing by the rules.

The “Olympic Properties”

The Olympic Properties1 are designated by the IOC and include (amongst other things) the five ring Olympic symbol, the flag, the motto (“Citius – Altius – Fortius” / “Faster, Higher, Stronger”), the mascots (the 2024 Phryges), as well as any musical, audio-visual or creative works created in connection with the Olympic games.

The IOC has strict guidelines around the use of the Olympic Properties for commercial purposes, and in most cases, use is restricted to the IOC and official Olympic partners.  Official Olympic partners to the 2024 Games include Coca-Cola, Airbnb, Toyota, Panasonic and Visa.

The Olympic Properties are protected by the usual array of traditional intellectual property rights, such as copyright, designs, and trade marks. There are also other international and domestic laws which prohibit their misuse – including, in New Zealand, the Fair-Trading Act 1986 (FTA), and the Major Events Management Act 2007 (MEMA).

Defending the “Olympic Properties”

Given the strength of the intellectual property rights vested in the Olympic Properties, and the supplementary strength of the IOC and the Official Partners, any unauthorised use of the Olympic Properties could result in claims of copyright infringement, trade mark infringement, passing off, breaches of the Advertising Standards Code, and/or the FTA.  

Of particular note, section 13(e) of the FTA specifically prohibits making “a false or misleading representation that a person has any sponsorship, approval, endorsement, or affiliation”, and rule 2(f) of the Advertising Standards Code states “advertisements must not claim or imply endorsement by any individual, government agency, professional body or independent agency unless there is prior consent and the endorsement is current and verifiable.”

In addition to these restrictions, section 28 of MEMA permanently protects certain emblems and words (or words that have similar meanings) relating to the Olympic Games from unauthorised use, including the Olympic Rings and “Paris 2024”. Persons who commit an offence against s 28 are liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding NZ$150,000.

Offside Actions

Some of the most common offending actions that are seen during major events are potentially inadvertent, including:

  1. referring to protected intellectual property as part of a promotion e.g., “get 24% off during Paris 2024”;
  2. creating unofficial merchandise that features protected intellectual property e.g., the Olympic rings on a limited-edition toy; or
  3. creating social media accounts, or registering a domain name that include the protected intellectual property e.g., iwishiwasattheParis2024olympicgames.com.

Unofficial merchandise in particular has received a lot of attention by the organisers of the 2024 Games and the IOC. Both the IOC and the Paris Organisers have become members of French intellectual property protection association UNIFAB (an organisation seeking to raise awareness around the risks linked to fake products), and anti-counterfeit police operations have been taking place in Paris in the lead up to the games.2

Playing by the rules

For these reasons, companies wishing to partake in the Olympic fanfare will need to be careful in the strategies they adopt, and be aware of the potential legal risks, to avoid receiving any red-cards.

Most importantly if you are not an Official Partner, and if you do not otherwise have authorisation to use the Olympic Properties, anything that creates an impression to consumers that there is a connection, endorsement or any form of sponsorship will need to be avoided. Also, in most cases permission should be sought from official media partners or copyright owners before any footage of athletes or events is used.

That being said, brands may still use generic sporting themes, or original content that alludes to the games, so long as it does not directly use the Olympic Properties or imply an official association with the Olympic Games. As we have seen with previous major events, creative campaigns that capture the spirit of the event while complying with the rules can bring home the gold.

Bell Gully recommends seeking legal advice before diving into any branding or marketing campaigns that could be associated with the 2024 Games or any other major events.

If you have any questions about the matters raised in this article, please get in touch with the contacts listed or your usual Bell Gully adviser.

[1] The Olympic Properties are defined in the Olympic Charter (Olympic Properties (olympics.com)) and are owned by the IOC. [2] Reuters, In Olympics push, France ramps up war on fake fashion (https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/deja-vu-olympics-push-france-ramps-up-war-fakes-2024-07-09/)


Disclaimer: This publication is necessarily brief and general in nature. You should seek professional advice before taking any action in relation to the matters dealt with in this publication.