On September 1, the Beijing Olympic Games marketing operation will be launched formally. Now, many enterprises, home and abroad, are busy contacting the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) in an effort to participate in the huge market.

By August 26, more than 600 Chinese enterprises had been automatically disqualified from cooperating with the Beijing Organizing Committee for their infringement upon the intellectual property rights of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), according to Li Yanjun, vice director of the law section of BOCOG.

The so-called blacklist system is jointly agreed by both the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), though not in words.

Any enterprise which is found participating in the violation of the intellectual property rights of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its official emblem, will automatically lose the opportunity to cooperate with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).

According to Li, BOCOG, from its founding to August 26, 2003, had sent more than 500 notices to Chinese authorities in charge of industry and commerce together with 90 notices to General Administration of Customs for their help in the investigation of infringement cases. That is, some 600 enterprises under investigation so far will never be allowed to participate in the marketing of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The recent behavior that harmed the Olympic emblem and violates its intellectual property rights includes the following: open and illegal use of the Olympic emblem; using the name of “designated products of Beijing Olympic Games”, collecting money in the name of the BOCOG; advertising by copying images similar to the Olympic emblem; and engaging in sales activities, hinting at the Olympics, which are opposed strongly by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Yet, in order to avoid misunderstanding, Li also made it clear that it is totally different between the illegal usage of the Olympic emblem and participation in Olympic marketing.

Those who want to join Olympic business can find their routes through the following ways: take part in the marketing of BOCOG; invest in the construction of Olympic facilities and related equipment; dig out those hidden business opportunities in the sectors of culture, technology, education, physical culture and travel, and make full use of them, added Li Yanjun.

(China.org.cn by Zheng Guihong August 29, 2003)