The intellectual property rights related to the Olympic Games carry the Olympic culture and interpret the Olympic spirit, which is a valuable asset of the Olympic Movement. The 2022 Beijing News Center held a special press conference today (14th) to introduce the comprehensive strengthening of intellectual property protection for the Winter Olympics.
According to the press conference, the "Regulations on the Protection of Olympic Symbols" promulgated by the State Council in 2002 played an important role in the smooth hosting of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
In 2018, the Chinese government improved and revised the regulations to further include the relevant symbols of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in the scope of protection. Up to now, the State Intellectual Property Office has protected 63 Olympic symbols by public announcement, 14 patent applications and 315 trademark applications submitted by the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee.
Zhang Zhicheng, spokesperson of the State Intellectual Property Office, Director of the Department of Intellectual Property Protection: The National Copyright Administration and the Central Radio and Television Station jointly released the "Copyright Protection Plan" for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, and together with the Cyberspace Administration of China and other 6 departments, set up an anti-piracy working group for the Winter Olympics to jointly carry out centralized copyright protection actions for the Winter Olympics. The high level of intellectual property protection is the greatest respect for every athlete who works hard, the best incentive for every Olympic innovation and technology, the best promotion and dissemination of every wonderful and fierce event, and the interpretation and guarantee of the Olympic spirit of "faster, higher, stronger and more united".
In late January, the National Copyright Administration, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and the Cyberspace Administration of China, jointly launched a two-month concentrated action on copyright protection for the Winter Olympics.
Focus on cracking down on short video platform public accounts that provide unauthorized links to the pirated broadcast of Winter Olympic event programs, centralized batch upload and dissemination of Winter Olympic event programs on network platforms, and conduct of network anchors in unauthorized dissemination of Winter Olympic event programs during live broadcasts; focus on rectifying illegal acts of producing and selling infringing and pirated derivatives related to the Winter Olympics. At present, the special action is steadily advancing.
Zhang Zhicheng, spokesperson of the State Intellectual Property Office, Director of the Department of Intellectual Property Protection: Since entering the Competition, the organization has focused on cracking down on infringement of the exclusive right to Olympic symbols, the use of Olympic elements to carry out business activities, malicious preemptive registration of the names and trademarks of public figures such as Olympic champions, and illegal dissemination of Winter Olympic programs.
At the press conference, it was also revealed that the local market supervision departments have taken a zero-tolerance attitude and struck a blow at infringement and illegal acts and severely punished them according to law. Up to now, local market supervision departments have investigated and handled more than 240 cases of infringement of the exclusive rights of Olympic symbols.