Using the word 'Olympics' in your marketing

As the Westcountry looks forward to buoyant trade in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics, businesses are mapping out their advertising strategies.

The Olympic sailing at Weymouth-Portland, just a stone’s throw away, will be a great marketing opportunity.

But businesses should bear in mind that a legal minefield awaits the unwary, and it’s crucial to get the publicity just right.

Advertisers risk becoming hunted quarry if their advertising is deemed unacceptable or – Rumpole forbid! – unlawful.

Just when the intricacies of FIFA’s protected logos and phrases in connection with the World Cup advertising have finally be mastered, more intellectual property pitfalls abound under Olympics laws, including the new London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006.

Though the London Olympics are six years away, references to the event are already tightly restricted, through protected words and logos.

New intellectual property rights were rushed into force in April this year to ensure, in the words of London Olympics guru Seb Coe, a “clean advertising environment”.

The context is that the Games are an advertiser’s dream. They will attract worldwide TV audiences and unprecedented column inches, and having goods or services associated with such a sensational event can only work wonders for sales.

But the organisers and ‘official partners’ have invested heavily to create the event, and the law aims to protect that investment and the value of licensing deals.

The 2006 Act clamps down on ‘ambush marketing’, whereby businesses try to advertise near an Olympics venue to bask in the event’s reflected glory.

Since athletes will be competing at venues across the country, a wide range of businesses may be tempted to muscle in on the event’s goodwill. The sailing takes place at Weymouth-Portland, soccer will be hosted by Cardiff, Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow, rowing at Eton Dorney, canoeing at Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, and mountain-biking at Weald Country Park in Essex.

In all these locations, businesses will have to avoid infringing something known as ‘Olympic association right’ under the Olympic Symbol etc (Protection) Act 1995 as well as the newly created ‘London Olympics association right’ (LOar) under the 2006 Act.

Use of words such as ‘Olympic(s)’, ‘Olympian(s)’, and ‘Paralympic(s)’ are restricted. Meanwhile, a person infringes LOar if he uses a “representation” (of any kind) in the course of trade in a manner likely to suggest to the public that there is an association between the London Olympics and his goods or services.

Put simply, it’s unlawful to pass your business off as being officially linked with the Games. Knowing where to draw the line can be tricky.

The 2006 Act gives some guidance, stating that when considering whether a particular advert has breached the rule, a court may “take account of” its use of specified – but otherwise innocuous – words, including ‘London’, ‘Games, ‘twenty twelve’, ‘gold’, and ‘summer’.

Errant advertisers who refuse to accept that parts of the English language may now be off-limits could face a claim for damages, an account of profits, and an injunction. They could also be prosecuted for a criminal offence.

Nevertheless, the 2012 Games remain a golden opportunity for local businesses.

The secret is to get your marketing approved by specialist lawyers so you can unlock commercial potential without infringing intellectual property rights.

Get the publicity and marketing right, and you will come out with the business equivalent of a gold medal. Get it wrong, and the disappointment of not being a business medallist could be accompanied by serious – and expensive – litigation.