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AOC protects Olympic brand

 

AOC protects Olympic brand

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AOC
AOC protects Olympic brand

The Australian Olympic Committee welcomed the recent decision of IP Australia to refuse an attempt by a US based company to register the trade mark OLYMPIC in Australia.

The Australian Olympic Committee welcomed the recent decision of IP Australia to refuse an attempt by a US based company to register the trade mark OLYMPIC in Australia. 
 
John Coates, President of the AOC, said this was a landmark decision by IP Australia. It sends an important message in the lead-up to the 2012 Olympic Games that the operation of the Olympic Insignia Protection Act (commonly known as "OIPA") regulating the use of protected Olympic expressions such as OLYMPIC for commercial purposes cannot be circumvented.
 
PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc, a subsidiary of PPG, one of the largest coatings businesses in the world, applied to register OLYMPIC as a trade mark for coatings in Australia.
 
The AOC objected and retained Allens Arthur Robinson to represent it in the dispute. The matter was heard in November 2011 last year before Debrett Lyons, a Senior Hearing Officer at IP Australia.
 
Mr Lyons accepted the AOC's argument that use of OLYMPIC for coatings would contravene OIPA. He gave weight to the licensing and sponsorship arrangements of the IOC and AOC which included the coatings and paint category. He acknowledged that regard must be had to the purpose of OIPA in protecting and furthering Australia's position in the world Olympic movement by facilitating the raising of licensing revenue through the regulation of the use for commercial purposes of certain expressions associated with the world Olympic movement.  
 
"Australia's Olympic programme relies heavily on funding it receives from its licensing and sponsorship activities", Mr Coates said. "We therefore need strong legislation to protect Olympic expressions that are used for commercial purposes. There are, of course, legitimate uses of the word OLYMPIC to which the AOC does not object".
 
Miriam Stiel, a partner at Allens Arthur who handled the case for the AOC, agreed that this was an important victory.

"OIPA prohibits the use of the word OLYMPIC for commercial purposes other than by the AOC or its licensees. In the past, the AOC has had problems with businesses trying to register trade marks containing protected Olympic expressions without the AOC's permission,” she said.

"This decision should deter anyone else contemplating doing so".
 
PPG has been ordered to pay the AOC's costs of the opposition.

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