Another Olympic cycle is over and done with and it seems like the party started in style in Rio. Things were exciting as ever and, most of all, we had shocks, we had surprises and lightning struck for a third consecutive time.
As ever, the only important question which had to be answered was:
“How does the world’s favourite quadrennial competition relate to the world of Intellectual Property?”
What happens if we look for patents related to the Olympics?
Beijing 2008
A quick search shows that Beijing 2008 was a particularly fertile time for Olympic-related inventions.
CN201276854 demonstrates an “innovative prize-awarding platform” which raises victorious athletes to their rightful positions, whilst shaming the third-placed competitor by withholding glorious elevation.
It is truly a surprise that this invention did not catch on.
The International Olympic Committee are always worth investigating. A quick shuffle on to the European Union Intellectual Property Office website uncovers a few gems. There are plenty of interesting registrations in the name of the Comité International Olympique. For starters, the back-catalogue of failed bids for Olympic Games can be found.
Germany Olympic games
History would have taken a very different course had Team GB arrived at Leipzig 2012, after all. The Leipzig games may not have happened and therefore the trademark allowed to lapse. However, the IOC have been assiduous in maintaining the trademark going to the poster for the infamous Berlin ’36 Games.
Sochi 2014
Probably, the most mysterious part of the IOC portfolio comes in the six Registered Designs 001707241-0001 to -0006, which were filed in May 2010, but lapsed in May 2015.
The design to be protected appears to be a shattered pane of glass – what could it possibly be intended to cover?
A little digging reveals that the logo was used as part of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. It is probably intended to be representative of snow. It’s not a design I recall seeing at the time. Maybe, this explains why the IOC did not choose to maintain the registrations.
In conclusion, we can therefore see that there is limitless fun to be had in applying a little IP investigation to the popular subjects of the day. So, if you ever find yourself with a spare moment, why not see what more you can uncover about IP in unusual circumstances!
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