Are You Olympic? The U.S. Olympic Committee May Not Think So
August, 2009
The 21st Winter Olympic Games will be held in mid-February 2010 in British Columbia. In anticipation, the U.S. Olympic Committee is heading to court in its efforts to police the use of its name, symbols and the word OLYMPIC.
Several months ago, the U.S Olympic Committee filed a lawsuit against Olympic Supply, Inc. of Maryland for use of the tradename Olympic News. Olympic Supply, Inc. operates a wholesale business selling medical, janitorial and industrial supplies. It also operates retail venues as Olympic News. The court issued an injunction last week against Olympic Supply, Inc. and gave it six months to change its business name.
Olympic Supply's unfortunate experience reminds us of the power and control given by Congress to the U.S. Olympic Committee over the OLYMPIC name and symbols. This control is understandable in most cases, but what about the legitimate businesses located in Western Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula, in the shadow of the Olympic mountain range, near the Olympic National Park, or in Olympia? Can they not use the word Olympic in their business name?
There are limited exceptions included by Congress in the legislation creating the U.S. Olympic Committee. Assuming that a user of the word Olympic does not have a license from the U.S. Olympic Committee, then only the following non-licensed classes of use of the word Olympic are allowed:
- Use of the word Olympic is permitted by anyone who legitimately used the word prior to September 21, 1950, but only on the same goods and services for which the name was used prior to that date, or
- Use of the word Olympic is allowed to anyone who uses the word Olympic on goods or services, when it is obvious from the circumstances that the word refers to the Olympic mountains, the region of Western Washington, or any other similarly named geographic region named prior to February 6, 1998, and
- Use of the word Olympic relates to goods and services that are marketed in Western Washington, west of the Cascades, or when marketing outside of this safe zone "is not substantial."
As a consequence of the severe limitations placed by Congress on the use of the name Olympic, any business not located in Washington, west of the Cascades, should heed the decision in the Olympic Supply, Inc. case and not use the name for its goods and services without a license. And, any business located in the safe zone of Western Washington without a license must market primarily in the safe zone and must not market substantially outside of the safe zone.
So, what should a business do that is physically located in Washington, west of the Cascades, but operates an important e-commerce business on the Internet that markets and sells worldwide? The statute does not define the term "not substantial," and the case law is sparse. On balance, if marketing and sales of non-licensed Olympic goods and services on the Internet provide an important and non-de minimus benefit to the user, even when the user and the ISP are based in the safe zone, the user should be cautious. The U.S. Olympic Committee engages in substantial anti-piracy efforts throughout the country, including on the Internet. It may be wise for firms located in the safe zone, but marketing on the Internet, to rethink their Internet branding strategy as far as non-licensed Olympic-branded goods and services are concerned. Certainly, anyone who began marketing or selling non-licensed Olympic-branded goods or services after September 21, 1950 outside of the safe zone should obtain a license.
The Winter Games begin in six months.
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