Who Is Playing The "Edge Ball" Of Olympic Marketing?

"08", "grand meeting", "Beijing", "sacred fire"...

On the streets of Jinjiang, Fujian, the sporting goods production base of China, large and medium-sized sporting goods enterprises are springing up around the Olympic marketing advertisements.

Although they are not Olympic sponsors, they are still risking violating Olympic intellectual property rights and playing the "Olympic card".

"Regarding Olympic intellectual property rights, it has a set of rules and regulations.

All you need to do is not touch the contents of this rule.

For example, your slogan can't be "go to Beijing to watch the Olympics together", but if you say "go to Beijing together", you can.

As long as the Olympic Games are not mentioned, the words "08" and "Beijing" are allowed in advertising slogans.

The manager of a non Olympic sponsor said so when he talked about Olympic marketing.

The Olympic Games belong to the category of Olympic intellectual property protection.

After years of legal education, most Chinese enterprises understand this.

It is rare for non Olympic sponsors to directly use relevant contents such as Olympic Games and five rings.

But is it possible to mention "08", "Beijing" or even renamed "grand meeting"?

In June 3rd, the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee held a press conference on "preventing the Olympic Games hidden market", and issued self-discipline initiatives for the Olympic Games hidden market and the Olympic Games "edge ball".

"In the process of dealing with hidden market cases, we find that many hidden market behaviors appear in the form of advertising."

Chen Feng, Vice Minister of market development department of Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee, said at the meeting: "for example, a non Olympic cooperative enterprise illegally uses the Olympic logo in advertising, or does not use the Olympic symbol, but through such elements as" passion 2008 "," 2008 rushes to Beijing ", or when some media have set up Olympic related columns, cooperation with or cooperation with non Olympic cooperative enterprises, this constitutes a hidden market. This situation must be stopped and corrected in time.

How can we stop this situation?

Chen Feng said that if it constitutes infringement, it should take legal channels; if it does not constitute infringement, it can only communicate.

Directly using the image of "Olympic Games" and "five rings" is a tort. As the chief executive said above, the words "08" and "Beijing" do not constitute infringement.

In this regard, Yang Hongfeng, Deputy Secretary General of the China Advertising Association, has no choice but to say, "we and the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee have issued this proposal in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Olympic Charter, but from the perspective of domestic laws, there is no clear provision, so we can only issue such a proposal."

Reporters walked through the front door of a shopping mall in the streets of Jinjiang, and saw the large posters of Andy Lau carrying the Olympic torch in Hongkong.

The general manager of the shopping mall said: "Andy Lau has great influence and is now carrying out the torch relay, so as to promote the sales promotion."

When reporters told him that using such posters not only violated Andy Lau's portrait rights, but also violated the rights of the Olympic Games, the general manager pulled the big poster.

"In the process of investigating advertisements for suspected hidden markets, we also noticed that, apart from some advertisers and advertisers deliberately violating the principles of competition, many of them did not understand the relevant rules of the Olympic Games, even because of their support and enthusiasm for the Olympic Games, and they carried out publicity with the Olympic games, resulting in a hidden market."

Chen Feng said, "in this case, if we take legal measures simply, we will bruise everyone's enthusiasm for supporting the Olympic Games, so in general, we should first communicate."

But the question is, what determines whether the business is deliberate or unintentional?

Is there no commercial character in support of Olympic Games?

Is it possible to infringe on Olympic intellectual property rights?

On the streets of Jinjiang, this shopping mall is everywhere.

A state-owned bank is not an Olympic sponsor, but a slogan of "the spirit of the same Olympic Games" was launched at its door. A beer business is not an Olympic sponsor, but it advertised in the local newspaper "warm congratulations on the success of the Olympic torch relay".

Compared with the above direct advertising marketing means, some businesses are more clever in marketing Olympic Games.

They choose to sponsor a national team, a star athlete, or even sponsor a national Olympic Committee and Olympic delegation, so as to achieve the purpose of participating in the Olympic Games and marketing the Olympic Games.

"The non Olympic sponsorship companies have not sponsored the National Olympic Committee. The intellectual property rights of the Chinese Olympic Committee are used by the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee. Therefore, the enterprises sponsoring the 2008 Olympic Games are also sponsored by the Chinese Olympic Committee, which has become one."

Chen Feng said.

But what he said is limited to China.

Many businessmen have extended their tentacles to foreign countries. Recently, some non Olympic sponsors sponsored the Korean Olympic Committee and the Iraqi Olympic Committee to take part in the Olympic Games in Beijing.

In this regard, Chen Feng said, "the Olympic market development adopts the principle of jurisdiction management, for example, you sponsor the North Korean Olympic Committee, your propaganda area should be in the jurisdiction of the North Korean Olympic Committee.

Within the scope of the Korean Olympic Committee, there is the right to develop the market, not a hidden market activity, but if we do market development within the jurisdiction of the Chinese Olympic Committee, we will not have the right.

The problem is that merchants can not directly develop the market in China, such as advertising, but the Olympic teams of these countries will wear the clothing and equipment of the non Olympic sponsors to participate in the Beijing Olympic Games.

This is obviously a bigger market development.

Some businesses are sponsoring a branch.