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IOC Trademarks Part of Canadian National Anthem
Posted by
kdawson
on Tue Sep 30, 2008 07:45 PM
from the can't-say-that-eh dept.
from the can't-say-that-eh dept.
gravis777 sends us to BoingBoing for news that the International Olympic Committee has trademarked a line from the Canadian National Anthem and is threatening to sue anyone who uses it. The line in question is "with glowing hearts." "The committee is so serious about protecting the Olympic brand it managed to get a landmark piece of legislation passed in the House of Commons last year that made using certain phrases related to the Games a violation of law. The list includes the number 2010 and the word 'winter,' phrases that normally couldn't be trademarked because they are so general."
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That's ok (Score:5, Funny)
Most of us Canadians don't know the words anyway.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Hey, the article was tagged "YOUR rights online," talking to ME. I'm not canadian, it's not affecting MY rights. WHAT'S THE DEAL!?!?
Re:That's ok (Score:5, Insightful)
Hey, the article was tagged "YOUR rights online," talking to ME. I'm not canadian, it's not affecting MY rights. WHAT'S THE DEAL!?!?
Here, try this as an expermient then. Grab a domain, WINTERGLOWINGHEARTS.COM will do and start selling snowglobes with the words Vancouver - Winter 2010 on them.
If no one hassles you then, yes, you're right; it has nothing to do with you. Please return to your regularly scheduled programming.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:That's ok (Score:5, Funny)
Geeze I'm from Texas and I know the Canadian Anthem, it's the theme to Hockey Night in Canada, right?
Parent
Re:That's ok (Score:4, Funny)
Geeze I'm from Texas and I know the Canadian Anthem
They should join the US.
Ummm, and the Canadians too, if they want.
-
Parent
Re:That's ok (Score:5, Insightful)
One nation indivisible. One nation, under god, indivisible.
Yeah. About that.
Parent
Re:That's ok (Score:5, Informative)
Oh, come on! You expect many people to know (let alone believe) that the original did not have the words under god in it? And that it was written by a baptist minister [wikipedia.org])? You expect too much from the average person! But, they ought to know it anyway. ;-)
InnerWeb
Parent
Re:That's ok (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:That's ok (Score:5, Funny)
For crying out loud, we took Celine Dion [wikipedia.org] off your hands for FOUR YEARS. Now you're just asking too much.
Parent
O Canada! (Score:5, Funny)
Hmm... not too keen on them trying to copyright my national anthem... but the copyright on the use of the word "winter", I like. We get too much snow as it is. Mother nature fears a lawsuit...
Re:O Canada! (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Ok so... (Score:5, Funny)
"The IOC are a bunch of fascists - with glowing hearts"
How was that? Sue me.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Always fear those with glowing hearts. They might still be radioactive.
Coming (Score:5, Funny)
Coming Winter 2010.....
SNOW!
Public domain (Score:5, Funny)
I hereby claim invention of the phrase 'fuck litigious international committees', and release this phrase into the public domain.
Re:Public domain (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
What I have to say... (Score:5, Insightful)
... is that this Canadian and a lot of people that I know will, with glowing hearts, ignore this piece of nonsense on the basis of prior art.
p.s. With the Conservatives in power when this was done, and the fact that they are more than likely to get back in, does anyone think that this will change?
Re:What I have to say... (Score:5, Insightful)
While I don't agree with this TM being granted, I don't really think it limits anyone. Sure Bell can't use the Canadian anthem in a special olympic cell phone deal for the upcoming olympics, but it won't (or shouldn't) affect canadian citizens in general. It does prevent people who attempt to jump on the olympic money wagon for free without paying the IOC fee and possibly goes overboard to affect innocent advertisers that are overly patriotic (pretty rare in Canada compared to the US).
It overly favours the IOC, but the gov't has a lot to gain from that.
Parent
Re:What I have to say... (Score:4, Informative)
Not quite. The IOC is not happy with merely controlling use of what they perceive to be their trademarks in relation to the Olympics; they actually seek to control any use, for any reason. For example, the role-playing/card game(s) "Legend of the Five Rings", which takes its name from a Japanese book on dueling published long before the IOC ever existed, was forced to change its visual-identity branding -- even though it had not one single thing to do with the Olympics -- because that branding included five interlocked circles, something over which the IOC claims control in any form and in any context.
Parent
Re:What I have to say... (Score:5, Informative)
Considering they passed a special law, prior art really has nothing to do with it. In the US, the Olympics long ago go a heinous law passed that gave them trademark rights on things you couldn't normally trademark. They didn't go so far as the anthem, but you cannot legally put the name "Olympic" in your business. Who cares of the thousands of years of prior art. This came to my attention when they recently forced the band named the Olympic Hopefuls to change. And it was, unfortunately, all very legal of them to do so.
Here's the law:
http://www.inta.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=187&Itemid=59&getcontent=1 [inta.org]
Here's a story on the band:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1507047/20050805/index.jhtml [mtv.com]
Parent
2010 with glowing hearts (Score:5, Funny)
Please will the insanity stop?
2010 2010 2010
They can kiss my ass with glowing hearts.
Re:2010 with glowing hearts (Score:4, Interesting)
It will stop when passing legislation this stupid can land them in jail, and not a second before.
I sure hope the estate of Callixa Lavalee(author of the anthem) is listening, and has contacted their lawyers...
Parent
Oh oh (Score:5, Funny)
IOC: ALL THESE WORDS ARE YOURS EXCEPT 2010. ATTEMPT NO OLYMPICS THERE. [wikipedia.org]
This is going to end badly.
Parent
Excuse me but... (Score:5, Funny)
Anonymous Coward (Score:5, Funny)
Oh no!
2010 winter
with glowing hearts afire
I mock Olympics
Hey IOC... (Score:3, Insightful)
Hosers!
this is retarded (Score:5, Funny)
so how will counting work with this new trademark in place?
2008 ...
2009
profit!
What about the French Version? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:What about the French Version? (Score:5, Funny)
"Its time for revolution! Viva Quebec!"
French identity must be preserved!
Break out the white banners of victory, and greet the enemy legs akimbo!
Parent
Re:What about the French Version? (Score:5, Informative)
"Its time for revolution! Viva Quebec!"
"Car ton bras sait porter l'épée", indeed. (But it might be wise to learn to say that in French ... "Vive le Québec", not "viva".)
Parent
Sydney Olympic Games (Score:5, Interesting)
Reminds me of when they found that they could not use the phrase "Sydney Olympic Games" because Mr Syd Games -- Mr Sydney *Olympic* Games -- had registered it as his trademark.
Boy was John Clarke pissed about that.
Beat them ... (Score:4, Interesting)
Quick ... need to trademark all even numbers between 2012 and 2100.
Sung to the lyrics of O Canada (Score:5, Funny)
I O C
Shut the fu-u-uck up!
Go fuck yourselves
You greedy heartless fucks.
With glowing hearts,
We will block your channels
Say goodbye to your ratings!
Fu-u-u-uck you,
I O C_______,
You're the Sciento-lo-gy!
Of organized
Spo-o-o-orts
Shove Winter up your ass 2010 times.
Shove the medals up your ass and go-o broke.
Only in America..... (Score:5, Funny)
Is the IOC really so powerful.. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Is the IOC really so powerful.. (Score:5, Insightful)
that they are able to subvert the host country's laws so effectively? I know that they have muscled around 'smaller' countries, but I would think that Canada wouldn't be so easily swayed.
What am I missing that makes the IOC so powerful? Is it simply the 'investment opportunity' and business that the Olympics bring? Is national pride so easily wounded that we have to kowtow to their every whim? Its no secret that the IOC is incredibly corrupt and profit driven... how come modern democratic states aren't telling them to fuck off and clean up their act? Instead the US, Britain, Canada, etc. seem to be bowing and scraping to meet their every demand.
They've been getting special laws passed in the UK too.
Remember this isn't just one group of people with a lot of money. It's one group of people with a lot of money who will also make a lot of money for a lot of other people - for instance, when Coke sponsors the games, you won't be able to buy Pepsi in the olympic village. Money talks, and when there's a lot of money it not only talks, it gets up in Parliament, makes speeches and proposes laws.
Parent
Very funny (Score:3, Informative)
I thought about registering withglowinghearts.com but someone [withglowinghearts.com] beat me to it :)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
And withglowinghearts.ca [withglowinghearts.ca] is also taken. Looks like a site for a book about paralympic athletes. Wonder when (not if) the sick heartless [expletive deleted] at IOC will try and yank the domain.
Prior art. (Score:5, Insightful)
The estate of Sir Arthur Clarke and MGM might have a thing or two to say about attempting to claim 2010 [imdb.com].
Olympics about openness and freedom... (Score:5, Insightful)
To the IOC (Score:5, Funny)
FUCK YOU.
With glowing hearts,
Canadian Citizens
Time to bury our heads... (Score:5, Insightful)
I really think it's time to just bury our heads in the sand. This world has become fucking crazy. What happened to common sense? What happened to old-fashioned business? Why can't we trust a smile and a handshake anymore?
I know this sounds a little pie-in-the-sky, but it's how I feel. I run a business. I'm honest. I make enough money for me, my business partner, and our employees. As honestly as I can. Sure, cheap, slimy people sometimes snake a customer away, but the ones to come to us are loyal. Almost crazy loyal. This world is truly getting sad.
I stopped paying attention (Score:5, Interesting)
On related news... (Score:5, Funny)
Tagline:
Olympics = Stupid (Score:5, Insightful)
The Olympics are for sell outs and commercialization. It baffles me why people still put such high value on this parade of stupidity. I almost feel sorry for the athletes that participate.
It's become such a joke.
Dealing with the IOC (Score:5, Insightful)
The most appropriate response to the IOC's increasing reach and commercialism is to make an effort to tune out the Olympics (TM). There are a great many amateur meets that happen throughout the world on a regular basis, and they're always in need of volunteers and spectators. If you can't do without a regular fix of Olympic (TM) patriotism, steer clear of the Olympic-branded (TM) merchandise and take a few minutes out of your life to let major sponsors of The Games( TM) know that you're avoiding their products because of the way the IOC has corrupted amateur sport (TM).
This is one instance where money really talks. A sharp downturn in funding and public opinion would work wonders.
I'm Canadian, so I'm going to take 10 minutes following the upcoming federal election to write a letter to my member of parliament complaining about the IOC's misappropriation of lines from our national anthem. The work is in the public domain, and it is quite obvious that the organizers of the Vancouver games are attempting to exploit its patriotic meaning for inappropriate commercial gain.
Glowing hearts? (Score:5, Interesting)
Does that mean that Spielberg is gonna get sued for E.T.? What if I watch E.T. in winter 2010... Will they have to re-release an edited version with glowing heart censored out?
Anyone else wondering if the IOC has strayed so far from the original spirit and intent of the Olympics and become such business-focused greedy rat bastards, that we need to give them the big finger and start over with a governing body that is actually focused on the athletes and the games rather than the money?
So what did you expect? (Score:4, Interesting)
One more time. IT'S NOT THE IOC!!! (Score:4, Informative)
Folks, quit lambasting the IOC. They didn't do this. VANOC did. Go after them if you want.
Advice to a lynch mob: Get your facts straight before lighting the torches.