Guidelines
USE OF OLYMPIANS
The British Olympic Association is delighted that you have visited the britisholympians
site and we hope that you take the next step of making a booking and using one of
our Olympians to help you achieve your business objectives.
In order that you have all the relevant information at your fingertips before making
the booking, we wanted to provide you with some background on the British Olympic
Association and some guidelines for using your Olympians in the most effective and
appropriate way.
THE BRITISH OLYMPIC ASSOCIATION
The BOA is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) for Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Appointed by the IOC, it is responsible for the Olympic Movement in the UK.
The primary role of the British Olympic Association is to assist Team GB sportsmen
and women to compete at their best for Great Britain in the summer, winter and youth
Olympic Games. This involves the preparation and management of competitors and officials
over the four year period between each Games. The BOA is also responsible for developing
and protecting the Olympic Movement in the United Kingdom at all levels.
The funding required by the BOA to deliver the services to the sports and take a
Team to the Games is derived predominantly from commercial sponsorship and fundraising,
for this reason the rights of Olympic sponsors must be protected.
THE OLYMPIC SPORTS
There are currently 35 sports which participate in the Olympic Games. The British
sportsmen and women who are selected to participate at the Olympic Games become
members of the Great Britain Olympic Team - Team GB.
There is only one Olympic team; The Great Britain Olympic Team. There is not an
Olympic Swimming team or an Olympic Rowing team. The individual sports join to become
Team GB, The Great Britain Olympic Team.
THE OLYMPIC SYMBOL ETC (PROTECTION) ACT 1995
The Olympic Movement’s intellectual property is directly and expressly protected
by an Act of Parliament; “The Olympic Symbols etc (Protection) Act 1995”. The BOA
and LOCOG are charged, through this statute, with the responsibility for managing
and controlling the commercial exploitation of certain protected words and images:
The Olympic five ring symbol (or anything similar)
The words Olympic (s), Olympiad (s), Olympian (s) (and similar words such as ‘Olympix’)
The motto “citius, altius, fortius” and its English equivalent “Faster, Higher,
Stronger”
The Team GB and BOA logos are registered trademarks of the BOA. Likewise, Olympic
Games logos and mascots are registered trademarks of the IOC and/or the relevant
organising committee (eg LOCOG).
Any unauthorised use of the BOA’s protected intellectual property is strictly prohibited
and is subject to a number of legal penalties that the BOA and/or LOCOG will enforce.
In addition, Parliament has also granted LOCOG special legal rights under the London
Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006. This Act grants LOCOG the right to
grant its sponsors and licensees authorisation to create an association between
their business, goods or services and London 2012. It also gives LOCOG the right
to prevent organisations creating such an association without authorisation.
For further information on legal protection of Olympic marks and terminology
click here.
THE OLYMPIC CHARTER
During the Olympic Games period athletes must abide by the Olympic Charter and various
restrictions will apply to sponsors. To ensure that an athlete is not put at risk
of being sanctioned by the IOC for a breach of the Olympic Charter please contact
the BOA prior to signing any agreement which may include the Olympic Games period
so that you are clear about the restrictions that will need to be reflected in your
agreements.
USE OF OLYMPIANS AT EVENTS AND IN ADVERTISING
A company which uses an Olympian for an event or who sponsors an Olympian may state
that Mary Smith is an “Olympian” or an Olympic Gold medallist”. However, that company
may not put greater emphasis on the ‘Olympic’ elements i.e. any strap line relating
to the Olympian should read:-
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Any Bank sponsors Mary Smith, OLYMPIAN 2004
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NOT ACCEPTABLE
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Any Bank sponsors of OLYMPIC GOLD medallist, Mary Smith
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NOT ACCEPTABLE
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Any Bank sponsors of MARY SMITH, Olympic Gold medallist
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OK
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Any Bank sponsors of MARY SMITH, Olympian 2004
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OK
|
When using an Olympian at events and in advertising also ensure:
1. The Olympian is not wearing their official Olympic Games clothing.
2. The Olympian is not carrying or wearing their Olympic medal, nor does the medal
feature on its own.
The key is about emphasis. The company must be clearly showing that it is a sponsor
of the individual, who happens to be an Olympian, and not try and utilise the sponsorship
to create or develop an association with the Olympic Games or Team GB. Essentially
the reference to the Olympics must be in a by-line not a headline. Congratulatory
advertisements are permitted after the end of the Olympic Games subject to the conditions
above
USE OF MEDALS
Olympic medals maybe used at presentations, at visits to schools, dinners etc. They
may not, however, be used by any commercial company to promote their products or
services, in any way. They may not be used in advertising, or promotions, photoshoots
or other commercial activities.
CLOTHING
The clothing provided to an Olympian remains the property of the BOA, although it
is given to Olympians in perpetuity. When attending any events or functions Olympic
clothing may be worn, but as with Olympic medals, official Olympic clothing as worn
by an Olympian may not be used as part of a promotion, advertising or photocall
for any company that is not an official Olympic sponsor. e.g. An Olympian in Team
GB kit cannot be photographed promoting a car that is not an Olympic sponsors vehicle.
The Olympian must wear their own personal clothing.
USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS
Use of Olympic photographs is restricted to Olympic sponsors and partners as controlled
by the IOC; Any photographer that is accredited to take photographs at an Olympic
Games must adhere to specific conditions relating to the sale of photographs commercially.
Photographers may only sell Olympic photographs for editorial use only. Commercial
use is only permitted by official Olympic sponsors and partners.
USE OF FOOTAGE
All rights to footage of the Olympic Games belong exclusively to the IOC and use
of Olympic footage is restricted to official Olympic sponsors. A company that is
not an official Olympic partner may not access Olympic footage for any purpose whatsoever,
whether commercial or not. An individual may show an Olympic video within their
own private home; however any videos of Olympic Games highlights or footage may
not be broadcast to a public audience. These rules are the same as for any television
broadcast.
NOTE:
These guidelines are primarily addressed to anyone who wishes to know more about
the scope for use of Olympians in a commercial, promotional or advertising context.
The information contained is for guidance only. It does not purport to contain legal
advice and should not therefore be relied upon as if it did.
For further information contact:
BOA MARKETING tel: 020 8871 2677, fax: 020 8871 9104,
email: britisholympians@boa.org.uk,
website: www.olympics.org.uk
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