9 ms·

Olympic organisers shut down “Space hijackers” protest Twitter account

37 points by kmfrk 14y ago

taligent 14y ago
It's an act of petty, vindictive censorship because the Olympic Committee are legitimately defending their trademark ? Wow. Way to give the legitimate and serious issues around censorship a bad name.
- idiot 14y ago
  You can be a good legal citizen and a huge jerk at the same time. These are just different domains. There is no causation that if you are acting within your legal rights you're exempt from moral responsibility.
- yardie 14y ago
  I wasn't aware there was a threshold on censorship issues? Does book burning still count or have we raised the bar to extreme renditioning before we can be concerned?
mkr-hn 14y ago
I could see changing the logo, but shutting the account down was too much. I doubt the account itself had any content related to the Olympics aside from the logo.
sparknlaunch12 14y ago
The rules around the olympics branding extends further than normal laws. There are guidelines even on referring to the games and athletes. The fact they are using a variation of the official logo is rights for a challenge. However shutting the account is a bit far. Is this in breach of twitter terms and conditions? Edit: Their account is temporarily suspended and not shutdown. If they change the branding and verify their account they will be reinstated.
- DanBC 14y ago
  Combinations of "summer" and "2012" can cause problems. See the BBC 3 tv programme needing to be called "Twenty Twelve" to avoid trouble.
nodata 14y ago
Related: http://www.protestlondon2012.com/10reasons.html http://www.protestlondon2012.com/10reasons.html
- zackzackzack 14y ago
  Well, that was fairly depressing.
- excuse-me 14y ago
  Simple solution - here is a list of London 2012 sponsors, just avoid them and their products. http://www.london2012.com/about-us/the-people-delivering-the-games/olympic-partners/index.html http://www.london2012.com/about-us/the-people-delivering-the... If you are a business customer just tell them that you aren't buying from them because you don't like the olympics attitude. Then wherever-the-f* 2016 will have a little more difficulty finding suckers.
  - neuronotic 14y ago
    Right...those with the most $ get the most votes in this system...
    - excuse-me 14y ago
      And the makers believe the olympics=popular=worth sponsoring message. If someone like Cisco got the message that Olympics = expensive / anti-social / corrupt, then they might not be rushing to sponsor it. That's why `cool` web companies don't sponsor golf or yachting
  - smsm42 14y ago
    > Then wherever-the-f* 2016 will have a little more difficulty finding suckers. You think? Somehow I don't imagine BP or P&G or Cisco saying 2016 Olymipcs committee: "sorry, we couldn't sponsor you anymore, that excuse-me guy from Hacker News really got us in the tough spot, so we have to choose between being associated one of most watched and admired events in the world and his business, so we can't really do anything here. Maybe in 2020..." Olympics are popular, probably vastly more popular than the Hijackers bunch, that describe themselves as "We're a bunch of fuck-wits". I have nothing against them having their fun, provided they don't hurt anybody, but given the existing trademark laws, it is hard to expect a different outcome. And if you plan to boycott every business that defends their trademark, you have a lot of boycotting to do...
Joeboy 14y ago
Does anybody know which logo it was? The five rings one or the Lisa Simpson one? I want to change my Twitter theme.
- alsothings 14y ago
  these are the logo files they're using http://www.protestlondon2012.com/images/banner_ads.png http://www.protestlondon2012.com/images/banner_ads.png it's a parody of the main crazy rave rendering of 2012 that is used by all the olympic related things.
alsothings 14y ago
The heavy handed enforcement of trademark and brand around the olympics is insane. Though on the other hand, this http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/22/olympics-thank-god-for-sponsors http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/22/olympics...
alsothings 14y ago
This twitter account https://twitter.com/#!/london20l2 https://twitter.com/#!/london20l2 may be of interest to people reading this thread. It appears to have been setup by people involved with Space Hijackers, though that is not totally clear...
- JonnieCache 14y ago
  Also https://twitter.com/#!/charltonbrooker https://twitter.com/#!/charltonbrooker has been trolling them for some time now. He's a very popular figure so if they send him a takedown notice then it will suddenly become a big issue.
rwmj 14y ago
Why are they not selling those t-shirts?!
samarudge 14y ago
I believe unless you are officially a sponsor for the games, or have recieved permission to use branding, you may not use the phrases "2012 Olympics", "Olympic Games" or "London 2012". There was a hotel had to change it's advertising to "Need rooms for the big event this summer" or something allong the lines because they weren't an official sponsor. And a Cafe had to change it's name from "Cafe Olympic" to "Cafe Lympic" [1] From the 2012 Olympics "Using The Brand FAQ" [2] >4. Who is allowed to use the Games' Marks? Official commercial partners, sponsors, suppliers and licensees are allowed to use the Games' Marks in accordance with the terms of their agreements with LOCOG or the IOC. See our current partners. > >We have also granted a number of non-commercial partners helping to deliver the Games the right to use our brand. This includes central government departments, the Greater London Authority and boroughs hosting various events for the Games. So it's more likely than anything they were taken down just for using the Olympic name and modified logo [1] http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9UTL52G0.htm http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9UTL52G0.htm [2] http://www.london2012.com/about-us/our-brand/using-the-brand/index.html#who%20allowed%20to%20use%20Games%20Marks http://www.london2012.com/about-us/our-brand/using-the-brand...
- excuse-me 14y ago
  So no political reason at all then? A bit like the Anti-Nazi league, presumably Nazi is a registered trademark of "3rd Reich inc" and so they should be banned for copyright infringement.
  - samarudge 14y ago
    I'm sure there is/would be a political reason, but it's most likely some marketing person refreshing a Google alert feed then (metaphorically) hammering anything that isn't one of their official sponsors. Just a theory
    - excuse-me 14y ago
      So no reason to push through amazing legislation that bans the use of phrases like London / Summer / 2012 / Games to such a ridiculous degree? "This legislation offers a special level of protection to the Games and their sponsors over and above that already promised by existing copyright or contract law. A breach of these acts will not only give rise to a civil grievance, but is a criminal offence."
Mordor 14y ago
Well, I'm just hoping they arrest Lisa Simpson for 'acting like a logo' lol
gouranga 14y ago
Bow to the O-word overlords or we'll chunk you in jail. I live in London and the city has turned to shit since it was announced. Everything is literally broken and being fixed up and convered in turd polish. The last 5 times I've bothered to commute in rather than sitting on my arse at home, the public transport is screwed.
omh 14y ago
Why disable the account rather than just notifying them and asking them to change the logo? I had a parody twitter account which was accused of trademark infringement last year. Twitter just asked me to change the logo to make it more clear that it wasn't the official one (I changed the shape of it rather than just one of the words), and everything carried on as normal. The whole thing was over in a couple of days and my account stayed online the whole time.
eli 14y ago
Nice article on the behind the scenes of the London Games in Vanity Fair: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/06/international-olympic-committee-london-summer-olympics#?currentPage=all http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/06/international-olym... As Livingstone prepared to sign, he paused for a moment. Then he looked up at the I.O.C.’s executive director, Gilbert Felli, who was standing by his side, and said, “My lawyers advised me not to sign this contract. But I don’t suppose I’ve got any choice, have I?” “No,” Felli answered, “you haven’t, really.”
smsm42 14y ago
Their logo looks pretty close to the Olympics one. So twitter really doesn't have much choice unless they want to risk a lawsuit - which they do not. Olympics guys probably don't have much choice too - TM laws require the owner to defend the trademark or lose it. The SJ guys would have to create their own logo.
- TazeTSchnitzel 14y ago
  >Olympics guys probably don't have much choice too Nonsense. The enforcement of the Olympic Games trademarks is overly broad. And this is a parody, they would be wise not to sue them.
- zerostar07 14y ago
  Comeon, the IOC is by far the most aggressive ip owner in the world, even counting all other sports events. It s more Like "protecting the rights of Adidas to say I sponsor Olympics" than protecting the ancient Olympia
  - smsm42 14y ago
    Any data that support this claim that they are the most agressive IP owner among all?
    - zerostar07 14y ago
      http://www.blogherald.com/2008/08/25/the-most-aggressive-copyright-holders/ http://www.blogherald.com/2008/08/25/the-most-aggressive-cop... http://www.cpaglobal.com/newlegalreview/4909/marketers_warned_don_t_play_ga http://www.cpaglobal.com/newlegalreview/4909/marketers_warne... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_symbols http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_symbols http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/apr/13/olympics-2012-branding-police-sponsors http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/apr/13/olympics-2012-br...
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
TazeTSchnitzel 14y ago
You mean the 2012™ London™ Summer™ Olympic™ Games™?
- zerostar07 14y ago
  Sir, you are going to have to come with us.
kmfrk 14y ago
Update: The account has been reinstated. https://twitter.com/spacehijackers https://twitter.com/spacehijackers. The protestors couldn't have asked for a better aid to their cause than the suspension.
zerostar07 14y ago
It is universally known that the members of the Olympic (tm) (r) (truly sorry) Commitees would gladly kill their mother to protect their intellectual property (which the ancient Greeks built but who cares).

37 points by kmfrk 14y ago

It's an act of petty, vindictive censorship because the Olympic Committee are legitimately defending their trademark ? Wow. Way to give the legitimate and serious issues around censorship a bad name.

idiot 14y ago
You can be a good legal citizen and a huge jerk at the same time. These are just different domains. There is no causation that if you are acting within your legal rights you're exempt from moral responsibility.
yardie 14y ago
I wasn't aware there was a threshold on censorship issues? Does book burning still count or have we raised the bar to extreme renditioning before we can be concerned?

mkr-hn 14y ago

I could see changing the logo, but shutting the account down was too much. I doubt the account itself had any content related to the Olympics aside from the logo.

sparknlaunch12 14y ago

The rules around the olympics branding extends further than normal laws. There are guidelines even on referring to the games and athletes. The fact they are using a variation of the official logo is rights for a challenge. However shutting the account is a bit far. Is this in breach of twitter terms and conditions? Edit: Their account is temporarily suspended and not shutdown. If they change the branding and verify their account they will be reinstated.

DanBC 14y ago
Combinations of "summer" and "2012" can cause problems. See the BBC 3 tv programme needing to be called "Twenty Twelve" to avoid trouble.

nodata 14y ago

Related: http://www.protestlondon2012.com/10reasons.html http://www.protestlondon2012.com/10reasons.html

zackzackzack 14y ago
Well, that was fairly depressing.
excuse-me 14y ago
Simple solution - here is a list of London 2012 sponsors, just avoid them and their products. http://www.london2012.com/about-us/the-people-delivering-the-games/olympic-partners/index.html http://www.london2012.com/about-us/the-people-delivering-the... If you are a business customer just tell them that you aren't buying from them because you don't like the olympics attitude. Then wherever-the-f* 2016 will have a little more difficulty finding suckers.
- neuronotic 14y ago
  Right...those with the most $ get the most votes in this system...
  - excuse-me 14y ago
    And the makers believe the olympics=popular=worth sponsoring message. If someone like Cisco got the message that Olympics = expensive / anti-social / corrupt, then they might not be rushing to sponsor it. That's why `cool` web companies don't sponsor golf or yachting
- smsm42 14y ago
  > Then wherever-the-f* 2016 will have a little more difficulty finding suckers. You think? Somehow I don't imagine BP or P&G or Cisco saying 2016 Olymipcs committee: "sorry, we couldn't sponsor you anymore, that excuse-me guy from Hacker News really got us in the tough spot, so we have to choose between being associated one of most watched and admired events in the world and his business, so we can't really do anything here. Maybe in 2020..." Olympics are popular, probably vastly more popular than the Hijackers bunch, that describe themselves as "We're a bunch of fuck-wits". I have nothing against them having their fun, provided they don't hurt anybody, but given the existing trademark laws, it is hard to expect a different outcome. And if you plan to boycott every business that defends their trademark, you have a lot of boycotting to do...

Joeboy 14y ago

Does anybody know which logo it was? The five rings one or the Lisa Simpson one? I want to change my Twitter theme.

alsothings 14y ago
these are the logo files they're using http://www.protestlondon2012.com/images/banner_ads.png http://www.protestlondon2012.com/images/banner_ads.png it's a parody of the main crazy rave rendering of 2012 that is used by all the olympic related things.

alsothings 14y ago

The heavy handed enforcement of trademark and brand around the olympics is insane. Though on the other hand, this http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/22/olympics-thank-god-for-sponsors http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/22/olympics...

alsothings 14y ago

This twitter account https://twitter.com/#!/london20l2 https://twitter.com/#!/london20l2 may be of interest to people reading this thread. It appears to have been setup by people involved with Space Hijackers, though that is not totally clear...

JonnieCache 14y ago
Also https://twitter.com/#!/charltonbrooker https://twitter.com/#!/charltonbrooker has been trolling them for some time now. He's a very popular figure so if they send him a takedown notice then it will suddenly become a big issue.

rwmj 14y ago

Why are they not selling those t-shirts?!

samarudge 14y ago

I believe unless you are officially a sponsor for the games, or have recieved permission to use branding, you may not use the phrases "2012 Olympics", "Olympic Games" or "London 2012". There was a hotel had to change it's advertising to "Need rooms for the big event this summer" or something allong the lines because they weren't an official sponsor. And a Cafe had to change it's name from "Cafe Olympic" to "Cafe Lympic" [1] From the 2012 Olympics "Using The Brand FAQ" [2] >4. Who is allowed to use the Games' Marks? Official commercial partners, sponsors, suppliers and licensees are allowed to use the Games' Marks in accordance with the terms of their agreements with LOCOG or the IOC. See our current partners. > >We have also granted a number of non-commercial partners helping to deliver the Games the right to use our brand. This includes central government departments, the Greater London Authority and boroughs hosting various events for the Games. So it's more likely than anything they were taken down just for using the Olympic name and modified logo [1] http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9UTL52G0.htm http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9UTL52G0.htm [2] http://www.london2012.com/about-us/our-brand/using-the-brand/index.html#who%20allowed%20to%20use%20Games%20Marks http://www.london2012.com/about-us/our-brand/using-the-brand...

excuse-me 14y ago
So no political reason at all then? A bit like the Anti-Nazi league, presumably Nazi is a registered trademark of "3rd Reich inc" and so they should be banned for copyright infringement.
- samarudge 14y ago
  I'm sure there is/would be a political reason, but it's most likely some marketing person refreshing a Google alert feed then (metaphorically) hammering anything that isn't one of their official sponsors. Just a theory
  - excuse-me 14y ago
    So no reason to push through amazing legislation that bans the use of phrases like London / Summer / 2012 / Games to such a ridiculous degree? "This legislation offers a special level of protection to the Games and their sponsors over and above that already promised by existing copyright or contract law. A breach of these acts will not only give rise to a civil grievance, but is a criminal offence."

Mordor 14y ago

Well, I'm just hoping they arrest Lisa Simpson for 'acting like a logo' lol

gouranga 14y ago

Bow to the O-word overlords or we'll chunk you in jail. I live in London and the city has turned to shit since it was announced. Everything is literally broken and being fixed up and convered in turd polish. The last 5 times I've bothered to commute in rather than sitting on my arse at home, the public transport is screwed.

omh 14y ago

Why disable the account rather than just notifying them and asking them to change the logo? I had a parody twitter account which was accused of trademark infringement last year. Twitter just asked me to change the logo to make it more clear that it wasn't the official one (I changed the shape of it rather than just one of the words), and everything carried on as normal. The whole thing was over in a couple of days and my account stayed online the whole time.

eli 14y ago

Nice article on the behind the scenes of the London Games in Vanity Fair: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/06/international-olympic-committee-london-summer-olympics#?currentPage=all http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/06/international-olym... As Livingstone prepared to sign, he paused for a moment. Then he looked up at the I.O.C.’s executive director, Gilbert Felli, who was standing by his side, and said, “My lawyers advised me not to sign this contract. But I don’t suppose I’ve got any choice, have I?” “No,” Felli answered, “you haven’t, really.”

smsm42 14y ago

Their logo looks pretty close to the Olympics one. So twitter really doesn't have much choice unless they want to risk a lawsuit - which they do not. Olympics guys probably don't have much choice too - TM laws require the owner to defend the trademark or lose it. The SJ guys would have to create their own logo.

TazeTSchnitzel 14y ago
>Olympics guys probably don't have much choice too Nonsense. The enforcement of the Olympic Games trademarks is overly broad. And this is a parody, they would be wise not to sue them.
zerostar07 14y ago
Comeon, the IOC is by far the most aggressive ip owner in the world, even counting all other sports events. It s more Like "protecting the rights of Adidas to say I sponsor Olympics" than protecting the ancient Olympia
- smsm42 14y ago
  Any data that support this claim that they are the most agressive IP owner among all?
  - zerostar07 14y ago
    http://www.blogherald.com/2008/08/25/the-most-aggressive-copyright-holders/ http://www.blogherald.com/2008/08/25/the-most-aggressive-cop... http://www.cpaglobal.com/newlegalreview/4909/marketers_warned_don_t_play_ga http://www.cpaglobal.com/newlegalreview/4909/marketers_warne... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_symbols http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_symbols http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/apr/13/olympics-2012-branding-police-sponsors http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/apr/13/olympics-2012-br...

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

TazeTSchnitzel 14y ago

You mean the 2012™ London™ Summer™ Olympic™ Games™?

zerostar07 14y ago
Sir, you are going to have to come with us.

kmfrk 14y ago

Update: The account has been reinstated. https://twitter.com/spacehijackers https://twitter.com/spacehijackers. The protestors couldn't have asked for a better aid to their cause than the suspension.

zerostar07 14y ago

It is universally known that the members of the Olympic (tm) (r) (truly sorry) Commitees would gladly kill their mother to protect their intellectual property (which the ancient Greeks built but who cares).