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The 2024 Paris Olympics, a global sports spectacle, has attracted the attention of countless viewers. In the fierce competition, not only the performances of athletes are closely followed, but also various legal issues arising from the games have become hot topics. While paying attention to the Olympic events, we will notice that each Olympic Games has introduced a new Olympic emblem (Emblem of Olympic Games); the Olympic emblem is the most recognizable symbol of the Olympic movement, representing the spirit of the Olympics and the inheritance of global sports culture. It also contains extremely high commercial value. This article will explore the trademark protection of the Olympic emblem from a legal perspective, revealing the problems and countermeasures in the protection process. I. Basic introduction of the Olympic emblem The Olympic emblem, also known as the Olympic logo, is the Olympic insignia of a particular Olympic Games. Each Olympic Games has a different emblem, and all emblems have the five-ring symbol, followed by a pattern reflecting the characteristics of the host country or national customs. In order to prevent the emblem from being used without authorization, especially for commercial purposes, the International Olympic Committee (Comite International Olympique) will register the emblem of each Olympic Games for global trademark protection. II. Difficulties in trademark protection of the Olympic emblem III. Strategies for protecting the Olympic emblem IV. Conclusion The emblem of the 2024 Paris Olympics, which was unveiled on October 22, 2019, is the logo used by the Paris Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It consists of a gold medal, the Olympic flame, and the French national symbol, Marianne. Before the official announcement, the International Olympic Committee had already applied for trademark registration of the corresponding mark No. 739771 on October 18, 2019, in Switzerland, and registered it on December 5, 2019, through the Madrid trademark system for various member states (international registration number 15279 This means that the Olympic emblem also needs to go through the normal trademark examination process, which makes it more difficult to register a trademark than a regular trademark in practice, as the registration of the Olympic emblem trademark usually requires registration in all countries globally and covering all 45 categories to ensure comprehensive protection. Difficulty 1: Global trademark registration search Before submitting a trademark registration application for the Olympic emblem, it is necessary to conduct a trademark similarity search globally in all countries to avoid the risk of prior similar trademarks and thus be rejected, thereby facing the risk of rejection and redesigning the emblem. The workload of conducting a trademark similarity search for graphic trademarks globally is extremely huge, especially as the Olympic emblem is usually composed of abstract graphics, so the data volume for a single country's search may be tens of thousands of screenings, and the accuracy is relatively low. Although the examination of the Olympic emblem trademark in most countries is usually more lenient, most of them only conduct a formal examination, i.e., whether the goods and services conform to the standards of each country. However, if the Olympic emblem were to be almost identical to an existing trademark, it would be immediately noticed by the global public upon its announcement and pointed out as having a "plagiarism suspicion" problem, and in some cases, it may be necessary to redesign the emblem and go through all the search and trademark application procedures again. The emblem for the 2016 Rio Olympics was unveiled in January 2011, consisting of three interconnected abstract human figures with legs and arms entwined. However, the emblem soon fell into controversy over plagiarism shortly after its release. The focus of the controversy was the similarity between the emblem and the trademark of a US charity organization. The similarities mainly involved the image of three interconnected abstract human figures holding hands, although there were differences in color and details. The design team denied the accusations of plagiarism, emphasizing that while there was a degree of similarity, no plagiarism had occurred during the design process.

Difficulty 2: Global Use of Trademarks and Design Searches

While there are relatively fixed databases for searching registered trademarks in various countries, the difficulty of avoiding countless unregistered trademarks or pre-existing designs that have already been used is much greater. The trademark protection systems in different countries are different, and our country's trademark protection system requires that the trademark proprietary rights are obtained only after the application for registration, but there are also countries (such as the United States) whose trademark protection system does not require trademark registration, as long as the trademark is actually used, it can generally be considered to have the prior trademark rights. The initial emblem of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, designed by Japanese designer Sano Kenjiro, was announced in July 2015, but soon after, the emblem was accused of plagiarizing the logo designed by Belgian designer Olivier Debie for a local theater. This event sparked widespread controversy and discussion, and the Tokyo Olympics Organizing Committee ultimately decided to discontinue the emblem and redesign a new emblem. Difficulty 3: Difficult to promote if it violates local trademark prohibitory provisions Like regular trademark registration, the emblem as a trademark needs to comply with the special provisions of the local trademark law, such as whether there are violations of local religious, customs, etc., otherwise it will be refused registration and use. The emblem of the 2012 Olympics was announced on June 5, 2007, and the emblem transformed the four digits "2012" into a non-regular graphic by combining different slanted blocks. The emblem of the London Olympics was met with much criticism when it was first released, with some people claiming that the design resembled a "distorted Nazi party emblem" and implied "sexual behavior." Iran also argued that the emblem spelled out "Zion," the biblical term for Jerusalem, implying that the design was racist and calling on other Muslim countries to join in the protest and boycott. Three. Difficulties in protecting the Olympic emblem through trademark registration applications In summary, the most cost-effective solution is to entrust trademark attorneys in various countries to conduct searches in their national trademark databases to see if there are similar trademarks and whether the design may violate their country's prohibitions on trademark registration. 4. Conclusion The Olympic emblem, as a symbol of the Olympic spirit, has significant commercial value. Strengthening the legal protection of the Olympic emblem trademark is of great significance for safeguarding the image of the Olympic Games and ensuring the legitimate rights and interests of the Olympic Games. We can see that there are still problems and challenges in the process of trademark protection for the Olympic emblem. However, we believe that there have been countless professional trademark lawyers around the world involved in the trademark protection work of the Olympic emblem, thus contributing their own meager efforts to the successful hosting of this sports feast that is eagerly anticipated by global audiences. Special statement: This article was written by lawyers at JAVY Law Firm and represents the author's personal views only. It should not be regarded as JAVY Law Firm or its lawyers providing official legal opinions or advice. If you wish to reproduce or quote any content from this article, please indicate the source.