Olympic: A Trademark Violation?
As you probably read in today’s Peninsula Daily News, the U.S. Olympic Committee is claiming a trademark on the word “Olympic.” (Here is a link to the story; the PDN article isn't available online.)
They're actually threatening to sue the author of a guidebook titled “Best of Olympic Peninsula” for using the word “Olympic.”
WTF???
What other title should the author (Jason Bausher) be using for a guidebook to the Olympic Peninsula?? If he called it “Best of Brand X Peninsula” nobody would know what he was talking about.
Is the USOC going to make us change the name of our peninsula, mountain range and national park?
This is beyond ridiculous.
They're actually threatening to sue the author of a guidebook titled “Best of Olympic Peninsula” for using the word “Olympic.”
WTF???
What other title should the author (Jason Bausher) be using for a guidebook to the Olympic Peninsula?? If he called it “Best of Brand X Peninsula” nobody would know what he was talking about.
Is the USOC going to make us change the name of our peninsula, mountain range and national park?
This is beyond ridiculous.
Labels: Best of Olympic Peninsula, Jason Bausher, U.S. Olympic Committee, USOC
posted by Tom Harper at 7:01 PM
4 Comments:
Tom, that's an autobot you are replying to...the links are hotlinks that will (probably) give your computer some weird virus or malware. Please, just delete the post...it's one that bloggers all over the world are seeing. It's NOT a person it's a computer program that crawls the web looking for somewhere to post.
M: Thanks; I wasn't sure. This blog has such a low profile, I wasn't expecting to be attracting any spammers, but undoubtedly that's what it is. Thanks for the advice; it's deleted as we speak.
The IOC claimed this many years ago. Caused a bit of an uproar then too. There are simply thousands of businesses using the word Olympic from plumbers to firearm manufacturers and our area is especially impacted because of the geographical features around us.
Sure its a joke but its also a legal catch-22 (and case of David vs. Goliath). If you are using a name, its best to trademark it. In a similar vein, thousands of domain names are being cypersquating on. If someone registers "TomHarper.com" you have little recourse other than buying it or waiting for the registration to expire (think tenforward).
Was not there a "Payless for drugs" store in PA that had to change its name after many years?
It's gratifying to know that firearm manufacturers are using the word "Olympic." What a truly wonderful marketing strategy, one which causes the hearts of all true Americans to swell with pride. The next time some snivelling liberal tells you that we make nothing in this country, tell them that Olympic Firearms are Proudly Made in the U.S. of A!
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