The Trademark Olympics!

Like any big sporting association, the international Olympic games own many marks. In fact, there are so many Olympic committees and associations it's almost impossible to do a search for Olympic trademarks. Do I search for something international or just in the US? And who really owns the concept? 

Truly, I had no idea when I started this, and my ignorance of the legal and organizational scope of the Olympics really only became clear as I tried to find official Olympics trademarks.

"But surely," I told myself, "someone must own that interconnected rings symbol or everyone would put all over everything."

Yeah, they do. And apparently it's everyone who has ever participated in an Olympic Games. I truly did not expect to be so overwhelmed by such a seemingly simple search premise. I think it is due to one culprit in particular, too.

Anyway, here are some Olympic symbols and their owners:  

The above-mentioned culprit! Canada's Canadian Olympic Committee went WAY overboard registering  their marks... in Canada. I did not find that they had registered so many in any other jurisdiction. Also, for all of the registrations that I pulled, they claimed every single class. Seriously! Nice classes 1-45 completely. Either CIPO was feeling lenient towards the Canadian Olympic Committee or they have pretty open ideas about classes of goods and services. 

ALL THE CLASSES (except it can only show 33; note the comma)

This particular mark is one of their committee's symbols. It was registered in 1975, and according to the WIPO Global Brand Database, is still live. 

The Canadian Olympic Association logo, since 1975

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee has many registrations in the USPTO database, but it doesn't have them like Canada. This one is for branding some random souvenirs. Still, it's likely just one of many similar logos that is used for multiple purposes and you've likely seen this past week.

Team USA!

I accidentally closed the window with this information about this registered mark, and given how overwhelmed I've felt about this search, thought I would never find it again. But allow me to introduce you to the image search function in the Global Brand Database sometime.

Both color and grayscale, just in case

It's for the British Olympic Association and covers a handful of expected and (probably also) souvenir-related classes. It doesn't seem to be the main symbology, though; that's a lion or lion head. 

The British were not my first guess when I saw this

The Qatar Olympic Committee is another that has worked hard to cover all potential infringement bases. They've registered this symbol in more countries than you might guess. I did not know the name of the IP office in Zimbabwe before this afternoon, but now I do. In this particular case, the image and the related record is from Tunisia, another IP office I was previously unfamiliar with.

I like how it's the ring colors but people

Finally, here is the recognizable international Olympic Games symbol, from the International Olympic Committee (Comité International Olympique) based in Switzerland. The specific registration is with the EPO.

International registration for international committees!

Enjoy the Olympics while they are still taking place, and we'll revisit this IP again in a few years.

Hey Gummy Guy!

Well if gummy treats are going to be a big deal this football season, then we better know about gummy IP. 

Hey Gummy Guy! Whose products are you handing out? Trolli? Let's see what we can find.

We know that Trolli brand gummy worms are a big player in both the gummy world and Rice's football games. After all, he recently visited Fondren before a game with some giveaways in a very prominently marked bag. As expected, there are MANY marks registered for Trolli, some for the candy itself, others for various marketing accoutrements like lip balm, clothing, backpacks, and other apparel. Though there seems to be more than one Trolli confection company, the mark that stands out most is designed word mark, familiar from recent video shots. It was submitted for examination, serial no. 97711266, only just this September--though I know I've seen it in years past. Perhaps the actual appearance of the name Trolli was not previously considered important enough to register. 

Currently being examined for federal registration, but...

However, based on investigation of some of the other registered Trolli candy marks, that may be due to some recent changes in ownership or licensing. Another word mark, no design included, with registration no. 1285440, was first registered in 1984 and includes a specimen that contains a recognizable element:  

I see you, Trolli, and  your registered symbol!

That's definitely a familiar font, just like the one above.

A third contender's specimen even has a package of some truly familiar gummies I believe we might have seen in the YouTube video linked above, under registration no. 2140788.

Technically, these are caterpillars, not worms

Fun fact:  There are still more companies that own this Trolli brand registrations. And they have the correct Trolli candy packaging appearance in their specimen files.

I'm uncertain who actually owns this brand and the candy name. All three of the registrations lead to different company names and locations. But they must all be related--or there would be a likelihood of confusion problem!

The parent company that has applied for the new word mark registration, Ferrara Candy Company, owns several patents.

The company name of Trolli did not find any assigned patents, and neither does the German firm, Willy Mederer KG, which owns the mark for registration no. 1285440.

Maybe there's a lot of licensing for the name, and many people create a product? After all, the patents for Ferrara are only for designs of candy appearances and some candy/display boxes.

Or maybe we should just enjoy our athletic gummy treats and not worry about relevant IP.

LOL! Yeah right, IP is clearly never far from our minds, right? 

...right?

Don't miss these World IP Day events

USPTO will hold two special events this month in celebration of World IP Day and this year's theme, "Reach for the Gold: IP and Sports."

A conversation with Shawn Springs

On Monday April 22, from 11 a.m. to noon, join a discussion at the USPTO headquarters or via livestream with former professional football player and entrepreneur Shawn Springs and Deputy Director of the USPTO Laura Peter.

After playing for 13 seasons in the NFL, Springs founded Windpact, which uses his patented Crash Cloud technology in football helmets to protect players from severe head injuries. The technology has applications in a variety of sports, as well as in the automotive industry and military sector.

After the discussion, meet representatives from sports companies and groups at an interactive exhibition until 2 p.m.

World IP Day – Capitol Hill

On Monday April 29, attend the USPTO annual celebration of World Intellectual Property Day on Capitol Hill from 4 – 6:30 p.m. in the Rayburn House Office Building Foyer.

Keynote speaker Dr. Phil Wagner, CEO of Sparta Science, will demonstrate his company’s force plate technology, which helps predict injury risks for athletes. Other speakers will include Deputy Director of the USPTO Laura Peter, Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization John Sandage, and members of Congress.

Presentations will run from 4 – 5:30 p.m. and a reception will follow.

From High Tops to High Tech: The IP of Basketball

From High Tops to High Tech: The IP of Basketball
Join the Texas Regional Office for a brown bag lunch panel discussion on intellectual issues relating to the sport of basketball. What role does innovation play in this ever-evolving game? Topics include famous historical patents, trademark and branding, right of publicity and more.

• Tamera Bennett, Entertainment Law Attorney
• Christian Dennie, Sport Law Attorney
• Andrew Faile, USPTO Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations
• Andrew Hirshfeld, USPTO Commissioner for Patents

Food trucks will be available onsite.  The event is free to all participants, but registration is required.
Texas CLE pending for 1.0 hours.
Registration (link is external)
For more information, please email TXROEvents@uspto.gov (link sends e-mail) or call (469) 295-9000.