Olympic Symbol etc. (Protection) Act 1995

The Olympics association right

Creation.

1

• (1) There shall be a right, to be known as the Olympics association right.

• (2) The right shall carry with it the rights and remedies provided by this Act, which shall be exercisable by such person as the Secretary of State ... may by order made by statutory instrument appoint for the purposes of this subsection.

• (2A) An order under subsection (2) above—

• (a) may appoint more than one person;

• (b) may make different appointments for different purposes;

• (c) may make provision for joint or concurrent exercise of rights;

• (d) may apply (with or without modifications) or make provision similar to a provision of section 23 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (c. 26) (co-ownership).

• (3) An order under subsection (2) above which revokes a previous order under that subsection may contain such supplementary and transitional provision as the Secretary of State ...thinks fit.

• (4) A statutory instrument containing an order under subsection (2) above shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Rights conferred.

2

• (1) The Olympics association right shall confer exclusive rights in relation to the use of the Olympic symbol, the Olympic motto and the protected words.

• (2) Subject to sections 4 and 5 below, the rights conferred by subsection (1) above shall be infringed by any act done in the United Kingdom which—

• (a) constitutes infringement under section 3 below, and

• (b) is done without the consent of the person for the time being appointed under section 1(2) above (in this Act referred to as “the proprietor”).

• (3) The proprietor may exploit the rights conferred by subsection (1) above for gain, but may not make any disposition of, or of any interest in or over, them.

• (4) This section shall not have effect to permit the doing of anything which would otherwise be liable to be prevented by virtue of a right—

• (a) subsisting immediately before the day on which this Act comes into force, or

• (b) created by—

• (i) the registration of a design under the Registered Designs Act 1949 on or after the day on which this Act comes into force, or

• (ii) the registration of a trade mark under the Trade Marks Act 1994 on or after that day.

• (5) Consent given for the purposes of subsection (2)(b) above by a person appointed under section 1(2) above shall, subject to its terms, be binding on any person subsequently appointed under that provision; and references in this Act to doing anything with, or without, the consent of the proprietor shall be construed accordingly.

Infringement.

3

• (1) A person infringes the Olympics association right if in the course of trade he uses—

• (a) a representation of the Olympic symbol, the Olympic motto or a protected word, or

• (b) a representation of something so similar to the Olympic symbol or the Olympic motto as to be likely to create in the public mind an association with it, or a word so similar to a protected word as to be likely to create in the public mind an association with the Olympic Games or the Olympic movement

(in this Act referred to as “a controlled representation”).

• (2) For the purposes of this section, a person uses a controlled representation if, in particular, he—

• (a) affixes it to goods or the packaging thereof,

• (b) incorporates it in a flag or banner,

• (c) offers or exposes for sale, puts on the market or stocks for those purposes goods which bear it or whose packaging bears it,

• (d) imports or exports goods which bear it or whose packaging bears it,

• (e) offers or supplies services under a sign which consists of or contains it, or

• (f) uses it on business papers or in advertising.

Limits on effect.

4

• (1) A person does not infringe the Olympics association right (despite section 3) by the use of a controlled representation—

• (a) in publishing or broadcasting a report of a sporting or other event forming part of the Olympic Games,

• (b) in publishing or broadcasting information about the Olympic Games,

• (c) as an incidental inclusion in a literary work, dramatic work, artistic work, sound recording, film or broadcast, within the meaning of Part I of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (c. 48) (copyright), or

• (d) as an inclusion in an advertisement for a publication or broadcast of a kind described in paragraph (a) or (b).

• (2) But the exceptions in subsection (1)(a) and (b) do not apply to advertising material which is published or broadcast at the same time as, or in connection with, a report or information.

• (3) A person does not infringe the Olympics association right by using a controlled representation in a context which is not likely to suggest an association between a person, product or service and the Olympic Games or the Olympic movement; and for the purpose of this subsection—

• (a) the concept of an association between a person, product or service and the Olympic Games or the Olympic movement includes, in particular—

• (i) any kind of contractual relationship,

• (ii) any kind of commercial relationship,

• (iii) any kind of corporate or structural connection, and

• (iv) the provision by a person of financial or other support for or in connection with the Olympic Games or the Olympic movement, but

• (b) a person does not suggest an association with the Olympic Games or the Olympic movement only by making a statement which—

• (i) accords with honest practices in industrial or commercial matters, and

• (ii) does not make promotional or other commercial use of a protected word by incorporating it in a context to which the Olympic Games and the Olympic movement are substantively irrelevant.

• (4) The Secretary of State ...may by order specify what is to be or not to be treated for the purposes of subsection (3) as an association between a person, product or service and the Olympic Games or the Olympic movement; and an order under this subsection—

• (a) may include incidental, consequential or transitional provision (which may include provision amending subsection (3)(a) or (b)),

• (b) shall be made by statutory instrument, and

• (c) may not be made unless a draft has been laid before and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.

• (5) A person does not infringe the Olympics association right by using a controlled representation in relation to goods if—

• (a) they were put on the market in the European Economic Area by the proprietor or with his consent,

• (b) the representation was used in relation to the goods when they were put on the market, and

• (c) the proprietor does not oppose further dealings in the goods for legitimate reasons (including, in particular, that the condition of the goods has been changed or impaired after they were put on the market).

• (11) The Olympics association right is not infringed by use of a controlled representation where—

• (a) the use is for the purposes of an undertaking, and

• (b) the way in which the representation is used for the purposes of the undertaking is a way in which it has been continuously used for those purposes since a date prior to the commencement of this Act.

• (12) In the case of a representation of a protected word, the Olympics association right is not infringed by use as part of—

• (a) the name of a company, being a name which was the company’s corporate name immediately before the day on which this Act comes into force, or

• (b) the name under which a business is carried on, being a business which was carried on under that name immediately before the day on which this Act comes into force.

• (13) The Olympics association right is not infringed by use of a controlled representation where the use—

• (a) takes place under a right subsisting immediately before the day on which this Act comes into force, or

• (b) is liable to be prevented by virtue of such a right.

• (14) The Olympics association right is not infringed by use of a controlled representation where the use—

• (a) takes place under a right created by—

• (i) the registration of a design under the Registered Designs Act 1949 on or after the day on which this Act comes into force, or

• (ii) the registration of a trade mark under the Trade Marks Act 1994 on or after that day, or

• (b) is liable to be prevented by virtue of such a right.

• (15) The Olympics association right is not infringed by use of a controlled representation for the purposes of—

• (a) judicial or parliamentary proceedings, or

• (b) a Royal Commission or statutory inquiry.

• (16) In subsection (15) above—

• “judicial proceedings” includes proceedings before any court, tribunal or person having authority to decide any matter affecting a person’s legal rights or liabilities;

• “parliamentary proceedings” includes proceedings of the Scottish Parliament, of the National Assembly for Wales,of the Northern Ireland Assembly or of the European Parliament;

• “Royal Commission” includes a Commission appointed for Northern Ireland by a Minister, within the meaning of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, or Northern Ireland department in pursuance of the prerogative powers of Her Majesty exercisable by the Minister or department under section 23 of that Act; and

• “statutory inquiry” means an inquiry held or investigation conducted in pursuance of a duty imposed or power conferred by or under an enactment.

• (17) In this section, references to use of a work in relation to goods include use of a work on goods.

Power to prescribe further limits on effect.

5

• (1) The Secretary of State ... may by order made by statutory instrument specify additional cases in which the Olympics association right is not infringed.

• (2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, the matters by reference to which a case may be specified under that subsection include—

• (a) the description of controlled representation used, and

• (b) the description of persons by whom a controlled representation is used.

• (3) An order under this section may contain such supplementary and transitional provision and savings as the Secretary of State ... thinks fit.

• (4) An order under this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

The Paralympics association right

Creation

5A

• (1) There shall be a right, to be known as the Paralympics association right.

• (2) The provisions of this Act shall apply in relation to the Paralympics association right as they apply to the Olympics association right; and for that purpose—

• (a) a reference to the Olympic Games shall be treated as a reference to the Paralympic Games,

• (b) a reference to the Olympic motto shall be treated as a reference to the Paralympic motto,

• (c) a reference to the Olympic movement shall be treated as a reference to the Paralympic movement,

• (d) a reference to the Olympic symbol shall be treated as a reference to the Paralympic symbol, and

• (e) a reference to the commencement of this Act is a reference to the commencement of this section.

Remedies in relation to infringement

Action for infringement.

6

• (1) An infringement of the Olympics association right shall be actionable by the proprietor.

• (2) In an action for infringement, all such relief by way of damages, injunctions, accounts or otherwise shall be available to the proprietor as is available in respect of the infringement of a property right.

Orders in relation to infringing goods, material or articles.

7

• (1) The Secretary of State... may by regulations make, in relation to infringing goods, material and articles, provision corresponding to that made by the following provisions of the Trade Marks Act 1994 in relation to goods, material and articles which are infringing goods, material and articles for the purposes of that Act—

section 15 (order for erasure etc. of offending sign),

section 16 (order for delivery up of infringing goods, material or articles),

section 18 (period after which remedy of delivery up not available),

section 19 (order as to disposal of infringing goods, material or articles), and

section 20 (jurisdiction in Scotland and Northern Ireland in relation to proceedings for an order under section 16 or 19).

• (2) Goods are “infringing goods” for the purposes of this Act if they or their packaging bear a controlled representation and—

• (a) the application of the representation to the goods or their packaging was an infringement of the Olympics association right,

• (b) the goods are proposed to be imported into the United Kingdom and the application of the representation in the United Kingdom to them or their packaging would be an infringement of that right, or

• (c) the representation has otherwise been used in relation to the goods in such a way as to infringe that right.

• (3) Material is “infringing material” for the purposes of this Act if it bears a controlled representation and either—

• (a) it is used for labelling or packaging goods, as a business paper , for advertising goods or services or by being displayed, in such a way as to infringe the Olympics association right, or

• (b) it is intended to be so used and such use would infringe that right.

• (4) Articles are “infringing articles” for the purposes of this Act if they are articles—

• (a) which are specifically designed or adapted for making copies of a controlled representation, and

• (b) which a person has in his possession, custody or control, knowing or having reason to believe that they have been or are to be used to produce infringing goods or material.

• (5) The power conferred by subsection (1) above shall be exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

• (6) Nothing in subsection (2) above shall be construed as affecting the importation of goods which may lawfully be imported into the United Kingdom by virtue of an enforceable EUright.

Criminal sanctions

Offences in relation to goods.

8

• (1) A person shall be guilty of an offence if with a view to gain for himself or another, or with intent to cause loss to another, and without the consent of the proprietor, he—

• (a) applies a controlled representation to goods or their packaging,

• (b) sells or lets for hire, offers or exposes for sale or hire or distributes goods which bear, or the packaging of which bears, such a representation, or

• (c) has in his possession, custody or control in the course of a business any such goods with a view to the doing of anything, by himself or another, which would be an offence under paragraph (b) above.

• (2) A person shall be guilty of an offence if with a view to gain for himself or another, or with intent to cause loss to another, and without the consent of the proprietor, he—

• (a) applies a controlled representation to material intended to be used—

• (i) for labelling or packaging goods,

• (ii) as a business paper in relation to goods, or

• (iii) for advertising goods,

• (b) uses in the course of a business material bearing such a representation for labelling or packaging goods, as a business paper in relation to goods, or for advertising goods, or

• (c) has in his possession, custody or control in the course of a business any such material with a view to the doing of anything, by himself or another, which would be an offence under paragraph (b) above.

• (3) A person shall be guilty of an offence if with a view to gain for himself or another, or with intent to cause loss to another, and without the consent of the proprietor, he—

• (a) makes an article specifically designed or adapted for making copies of a controlled representation, or

• (b) has such an article in his possession, custody or control in the course of a business,

knowing or having reason to believe that it has been, or is to be, used to produce goods, or material for labelling or packaging goods, as a business paper in relation to goods, or for advertising goods.

• (4) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to show that he believed on reasonable grounds that the use of the representation in the manner in which it was used, or was to be used, was not an infringement of the Olympics association right.

• (5) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

• (a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, and

• (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

Enforcement by trading standards authority

8A

• (1) A local weights and measures authority may enforce within their area the provisions of section 8.

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) Subsection (1) above does not apply in relation to the enforcement of section 8 in Northern Ireland; but—

• (a) the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment may enforce that section in Northern Ireland, ...

• (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3A) For the investigatory powers available to a local weights and measures authority or the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland for the purposes of the powers in this section, see Schedule 5 to the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

• (4) Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorising a local weights and measures authority to bring proceedings in Scotland for an offence.

Arrest

8B

• (1) After paragraph 21 of Schedule 1A to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (arrestable offences) add—