3 ms·

Is this really at all interesting? This is the same sort of thing that happens with the Super Bowl year after year.

viraptor 15y ago
Some of us don't know much about super bowl, because it's a single country single sport thing. 2012 Olympic games in London are more universal. I didn't know anything about the super bowl issue.
- slantyyz 15y ago
  This is nothing new. The IOC always swings a big copyright hammer in every host city, even if a business has existed for a long time. If there is any business that even remotely has a word starting with "Olymp" (think McDonald's and their litigiousness with the Mc prefix, but worse) in its name, such as a Greek restaurant, they'd better expect to be told to change your name. Local governments play along with the IOC because of the large amounts of money at play. While the Olympic games are a great thing, the IOC, however, is run just like any other business, and can be just as dirty/evil.
  - shrikant 15y ago
    I wonder if they would do anything about the Olympia Exhibition Centre. [1] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympia_%28London%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympia_%28London%29
    - slantyyz 15y ago
      That's a good question (I'm Canadian and can't speak to London). I know most of the small businesses they go after can't afford the legal fees to fight them. In Vancouver, our House of Commons gave the IOC an exemption that allowed them to go after small businesses: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concerns_and_controversies_over_the_2010_Winter_Olympics#Trademark_enforcement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concerns_and_controversies_over...
MichaelGG 15y ago
While the NFL's actions with the Super Bowl are silly, they don't apparently have a overly strong legal standing to bar people from even using those words[1]. After all, trademarks exist to avoid consumer confusion, not to bar all other entities from even mentioning the mark (although, it seems that lately trademarks are being abused and the law being twisted into expanding the purpose of trademarks). In London, extra powers been granted via parliamentary act[2], and even private security contractors may be able to enter homes to enforce these rules[3]. This is a pretty large difference. 1: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120202/04205917638/hey-advertisers-stop-believing-nfls-lies-about-trademark-law-call-super-bowl-super-bowl.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120202/04205917638/hey-ad... 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Olympic_Games_and_Paralympic_Games_Act_2006#Advertising_and_street_trading_regulation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Olympic_Games_and_Paraly... 3: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jul/21/olympics2012-civil-liberties http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jul/21/olympics2012-civil-...
daxelrod 15y ago
In the US, everyone has pretty much standardized on "the Big Game" as a euphemism to refer to the Super Bowl. This article proposed a euphemism for the London Olympics (although satirically). Seems like a good idea to me.

Some of us don't know much about super bowl, because it's a single country single sport thing. 2012 Olympic games in London are more universal. I didn't know anything about the super bowl issue.

slantyyz 15y ago
This is nothing new. The IOC always swings a big copyright hammer in every host city, even if a business has existed for a long time. If there is any business that even remotely has a word starting with "Olymp" (think McDonald's and their litigiousness with the Mc prefix, but worse) in its name, such as a Greek restaurant, they'd better expect to be told to change your name. Local governments play along with the IOC because of the large amounts of money at play. While the Olympic games are a great thing, the IOC, however, is run just like any other business, and can be just as dirty/evil.
- shrikant 15y ago
  I wonder if they would do anything about the Olympia Exhibition Centre. [1] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympia_%28London%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympia_%28London%29
  - slantyyz 15y ago
    That's a good question (I'm Canadian and can't speak to London). I know most of the small businesses they go after can't afford the legal fees to fight them. In Vancouver, our House of Commons gave the IOC an exemption that allowed them to go after small businesses: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concerns_and_controversies_over_the_2010_Winter_Olympics#Trademark_enforcement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concerns_and_controversies_over...

MichaelGG 15y ago

While the NFL's actions with the Super Bowl are silly, they don't apparently have a overly strong legal standing to bar people from even using those words[1]. After all, trademarks exist to avoid consumer confusion, not to bar all other entities from even mentioning the mark (although, it seems that lately trademarks are being abused and the law being twisted into expanding the purpose of trademarks). In London, extra powers been granted via parliamentary act[2], and even private security contractors may be able to enter homes to enforce these rules[3]. This is a pretty large difference. 1: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120202/04205917638/hey-advertisers-stop-believing-nfls-lies-about-trademark-law-call-super-bowl-super-bowl.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120202/04205917638/hey-ad... 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Olympic_Games_and_Paralympic_Games_Act_2006#Advertising_and_street_trading_regulation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Olympic_Games_and_Paraly... 3: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jul/21/olympics2012-civil-liberties http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jul/21/olympics2012-civil-...

daxelrod 15y ago

In the US, everyone has pretty much standardized on "the Big Game" as a euphemism to refer to the Super Bowl. This article proposed a euphemism for the London Olympics (although satirically). Seems like a good idea to me.