Olympic games: exclusivity and revenue

By: Donvay Wegierski, Director

The protection of the Olympic Symbol, and its torch, flag and anthem is extremely important. According to the Nairobi Treaty on the Protection of the Olympic Symbol, which is an international treaty managed by the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) –

“any state that is a member of this treaty is obliged to refuse or to invalidate the registration as mark and to prohibit by appropriate measures the use, as a mark or sign, for commercial purposes of any sign consisting of or containing the Olympic symbol”.

The Olympics generates revenue through trade mark licensing, one of the key benefits of trade mark registration. The recent Winter Olympics in South Korea was an international spectacle with sponsorship and broadcasting rights no doubt the main source of revenue, funding the Games and contributing to sports development worldwide.