Regulations on the Protection of Olympic Symbols

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Regulations on the Protection of Olympic Symbols

Chinese Law

Regulations on the Protection of Olympic Symbols
奥运标志保护法

(Adopted at the 54th Executive Meeting of the the State Council on January 30,2002,promulgated by Decree No.345 of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China on February 4,2002,and effective as of April 1,2002.)

Article 1

These Regulations are formulated for the purposes of strengthening the protection of Olympic symbols, safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of the right holders of Olympic symbols and maintaining the dignity of Olympic movement.

Article 2

For the purposes of these Regulations, ”Olympic symbols” refer to:

(1) The five Olympic rings, Olympic flag, Olympic motto, Olympic emblem and Olympic anthem of the International Olympic Committee (IOC);

(2) Expressions such as Olympic, Olympiad, Olympic Games and their abbreviations;

(3) The name, emblem and symbols of the Chinese Olympic Committee;

(4) The name, emblem and symbols of Beijing2008 Olympic Games Bid Committee;

(5) Symbols such as the name and emblem of Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, the mascots, anthem and slogan of the 29th Olympic Games, 'Beijing2008', the 29th Olympic Games and its abbreviations;

(6) Other symbols related to the 29th Olympic Games laid down in the Olympic Charter and the Host City Contract for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in the Year 2008.

Article 3

For the purpose of these Regulations, “right holders of Olympic symbols” refers to the International Olympic Committee, the Chinese Olympic Committee and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.

The division of rights among the International Olympic Committee, the Chinese Olympic Committee and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad shall be determined in accordance with the Olympic Charter and the Host City Contract for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in the Year 2008.

Article 4

The right holders of the Olympic symbols enjoy the exclusive rights of Olympic symbols in accordance with these Regulations.

No one may use Olympic symbols for commercial purposes (including potential commercial purposes, and the same below) without the authorization of the right holders.

Article 5

For the purpose of these Regulations, "use for commercial purposes" means the use of Olympic symbols for profit-making purposes in the following ways:

(1) The use of Olympic symbols in goods, packages or containers of goods or trade documents of good;

(2) The use of Olympic symbols in services;

(3) The use of Olympic symbols in advertising, commercial exhibition, profit-making performance and other commercial activities;

(4) Selling, importing or exporting goods bearing Olympic symbols;

(5) Manufacturing or selling Olympic symbols;

(6) Other acts that might mislead people to think there are sponsorship or other supporting relations between the doers and the right holders of Olympic symbols.

Article 6

The administrative authorities for industry and commerce under the State Council shall, in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations, be responsible for the protection of Olympic symbols throughout the country.

The administrative department for industry and commerce at or above the country level shall, in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations, be responsible for the protection of Olympic symbols within their respective administrative areas.

Article 7

The right holders of Olympic symbols shall submit their Olympic symbols for the record to the administrative department for industry and commerce under the State Council, which shall make a proclamation therefore..

Article 8

Anyone who are to use Olympic symbols for commercial purposes with the authorization of their right holders shall conclude a license contract with such holders; anyone who is to use the Olympic symbols set forth in Item (1) or (2)of Article 2 of these Regulations shall conclude a contract with the International Olympic Committee and institutions authorized or approved by it; anyone who is to use the Olympic symbols set forth in Item(3) of Article 2 of these Regulations shall conclude a contract with the Chinese Olympic Committee; anyone who is to use the Olympic symbols set forth in Item(4),(5)or(6) of Article 2 of these Regulations shall, before December 31, 2008, conclude a contract with Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. The right holders of the Olympic symbols shall submit the license contracts for the record to the administrative departments for industry and commerce under the State Council.

Where a license contract is concluded in accordance with to the preceding paragraph, the licensee may only use the Olympic symbols within the geographical coverage and the time period set forth in the contract.

Article 9

The Olympic symbols that have been lawfully used before the effective date of these Regulations may be continually used within the original scope.

Article 10

Where a dispute arises from the use of Olympic symbols for commercial purposes without the authorization of the right holders, that is, from the infringement upon the exclusive rights of Olympic symbols, it may be settled through consultation by the parties concerned; if the parties concerned are unwilling to consult or the consultation fails, the right holders of Olympic symbols or the interested parties may institute legal proceedings in a people’s court or request the administrative department for industry and commerce to make a disposition; where the said administrative department for industry and commerce finds that an infringement is constituted, it shall order an immediate cease of the infringement, confiscate or destroy the infringing goods and the special tools for manufacturing the infringing goods or for manufacturing Olympic symbols for commercial purposes without the authorization; if there is illegal income, the administrative department for industry and commerce shall confiscate the illegal income and may concurrently impose a fine of not more than five times of the illegal income; if there is no illegal income, a fine of not more than 50,000 Yuan may be imposed concurrently. Where a party concerned refuses to accept the disposition, he may, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, institute legal proceedings in a people's court within 15 days from the date of receipt of the notification of the disposition where the infringer neither institute legal proceedings nor carry out the disposition upon the expiry of the time limit, the administrative department for industry and commerce may apply to the people’s court for compulsory execution. Upon the request of the parties concerned, administrative department for industry and commerce may mediate on the amount of compensation for the loss caused by infringement of exclusive rights of Olympic symbols; if the mediation fails, any parties concerned may, in accordance with the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, institute legal proceedings in a people's court.

Anyone who use Olympic symbols to conduct swindle or other illegal activities therefore violates the criminal laws shall, in accordance with the provisions of the criminal Laws on the crime of swindle or other crimes, be investigated for criminal liabilities.

Article 11

The administrative departments for industry and commerce have the rights to investigate into and deal with the acts that infringe the exclusive rights of Olympic symbols.

When the administrative departments for industry and commerce, on the basis of the obtained evidence or information on suspected illegal acts, investigate into and deal with suspected infringement upon the exclusive rights of Olympic symbols, they may perform the following powers:

(1) Inquiring relevant parties concerned and investigating into matters related to the infringement;

(2) Consulting or copying contracts, invoices, accounting books and other relevant materials related to the infringement;

(3) Conducting on-the-spot inspection on the places where the parties concerned conduct the suspected infringement;

(4) Inspecting the articles related to the infringement; sealing or seizing the articles where there is evidence to support that such articles infringe upon the exclusive rights of Olympic symbols.

The parties concerned shall assist and coordinate with the administrative departments for industry and commerce when such departments perform the powers laid down in the preceding paragraph, and shall not refuse or hinder such performance.

Article 12

Where import or export goods are suspected of infringing the exclusive rights of Olympic symbols, the Customs shall investigate into and deal with the case with reference to the powers and procedures laid down in the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China and the Regulations of the People's Republic of China and the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Customs Protection of Intellectual Property.

Article 13

The amount of compensation for the loss caused by infringement of the exclusive rights of Olympic symbols shall be determined on the basis of the loss that the right holder has suffered from the infringement or the profit that the infringer has obtained through the infringement, including the reasonable expenses paid for checking the infringement; where the loss suffered by the infringe or the profit obtained by the infringer are difficult to determine, the compensation shall be reasonably determined with reference to the licensing fees for using Olympic symbol.

Those who unknowingly sell goods infringing the exclusive rights of Olympic symbols and can prove that the goods are acquired lawfully and point out the supplier shall not bear any compensation liability.

Article 14

In addition to these Regulations, Olympic symbols are also protected according to provisions of other laws and administrative regulations such as the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China and the Regulations on Administration of Special Symbols.

Article 15

These Regulations shall be effective as of April 1, 2002.

奥林匹克标志保护条例

　　第一条　为了加强对奥林匹克标志的保护,保障奥林匹克标志权利人的合法权益,维护奥林匹克运动的尊严,制定本条例。

　　第二条　本条例所称奥林匹克标志,是指:
　　(一)国际奥林匹克委员会的奥林匹克五环图案标志、奥林匹克旗、奥林匹克格言、奥林匹克徽记、奥林匹克会歌;
　　(二)奥林匹克、奥林匹亚、奥林匹克运动会及其简称等专有名称;
　　(三)中国奥林匹克委员会的名称、徽记、标志;
　　(四)北京2008年奥林匹克运动会申办委员会的名称、徽记、标志;
　　(五)第29届奥林匹克运动会组织委员会的名称、徽记、第29届奥林匹克运动会的吉祥物、会歌、口号,"北京2008"、第29届奥林匹克运动会及其简称等标志;
　　(六)《奥林匹克宪章》和《第29届奥林匹克运动会主办城市合同》中规定的其他与第29届奥林匹克运动会有关的标志。

　　第三条　本条例所称奥林匹克标志权利人,是指国际奥林匹克委员会、中国奥林匹克委员会和第29届奥林匹克运动会组织委员会。国际奥林匹克委员会、中国奥林匹克委员会和第29届奥林匹克运动会组织委员会之间的权利划分,依照《奥林匹克宪章》和《第29届奥林匹克运动会主办城市合同》确定。

　　第四条　奥林匹克标志权利人依照本条例对奥林匹克标志享有专有权。未经奥林匹克标志权利人许可,任何人不得为商业目的(含潜在商业目的,下同)使用奥林匹克标志。

　　第五条　本条例所称为商业目的使用,是指以营利为目的,以下列方式利用奥林匹克标志:
　　(一)将奥林匹克标志用于商品、商品包装或者容器以及商品交易文书上;
　　(二)将奥林匹克标志用于服务项目中;
　　(三)将奥林匹克标志用于广告宣传、商业展览、营业性演出以及其他商业活动中;
　　(四)销售、进口、出口含有奥林匹克标志的商品;
　　(五)制造或者销售奥林匹克标志;
　　(六)可能使人认为行为人与奥林匹克标志权利人之间有赞助或者其他支持关系而使用奥林匹克标志的其他行为。

　　第六条　国务院工商行政管理部门依据本条例的规定,负责全国的奥林匹克标志保护工作。
　　县级以上地方工商行政管理部门依据本条例的规定,负责本行政区域内的奥林匹克标志保护工作。

　　第七条　奥林匹克标志权利人应当将奥林匹克标志报国务院工商行政管理部门备案,由国务院工商行政管理部门公告。

第八条　取得奥林匹克标志权利人许可,为商业目的使用奥林匹克标志的,应当同奥林匹克标志权利人订立使用许可合同。其中,使用本条例第二条第(一)项、第(二)项规定的奥林匹克标志的,应当同国际奥林匹克委员会及其授权或者批准的机构订立合同;使用本条例第二条第(三)项规定的奥林匹克标志的,应当同中国奥林匹克委员会订立合同;使用本条例第二条第(四)项、第(五)项、第(六)项规定的奥林匹克标志的,在2008年12月31日以前,应当同第29届奥林匹克运动会组织委员会订立合同。奥林匹克标志权利人应当将使用许可合同报国务院工商行政管理部门备案。
依照前款规定订立使用许可合同的,被许可人只得在合同约定的地域范围、期间内使用奥林匹克标志。

　　第九条　本条例施行前已经依法使用奥林匹克标志的,可以在原有范围内继续使用.

　　第十条　未经奥林匹克标志权利人许可,为商业目的擅自使用奥林匹克标志,即侵犯奥林匹克标志专有权,引起纠纷的,由当事人协商解决;不愿协商或者协商不成的,奥林匹克标志权利人或者利害关系人可以向人民法院提起诉讼,也可以请求工商行政管理部门处理。工商行政管理部门处理时,认定侵权行为成立的,责令立即停止侵权行为,没收、销毁侵权商品和专门用于制造侵权商品或者为商业目的擅自制造奥林匹克标志的工具,有违法所得的,没收违法所得,可以并处违法所得5倍以下的罚款;没有违法所得的,可以并处5万元以下的罚款。当事人对处理决定不服的,可以自收到处理通知之日起15日内依照《中华人民共和国行政诉讼法》向人民法院提起诉讼;侵权人期满不起诉又不履行的,工商行政管理部门可以申请人民法院强制执行。进行处理的工商行政管理部门应当事人的请求,可以就侵犯奥林匹克标志专有权的赔偿数额进行调解;调解不成的,当事人可以依照《中华人民共和国民事诉讼法》向人民法院提起诉讼。利用奥林匹克标志进行诈骗等活动,触犯刑律的,依照刑法关于诈骗罪或者其他罪定,依法追究刑事责任。

　　第十一条　对侵犯奥林匹克标志专有权的行为,工商行政管理部门有权依法查处。工商行政管理部门根据已经取得的违法嫌疑证据或者举报,对涉嫌侵犯奥林匹克标志专有权的行为进行查处时,可以行使下列职权:
　　(一)询问有关当事人,调查与侵犯奥林匹克标志专有权有关的情况:
　　(二)查阅、复制与侵权活动有关的合同、发票、账簿以及其他有关资料;
　　(三)对当事人涉嫌侵犯奥林匹克标志专有权活动的场所实施现场检查;
　　(四)检查与侵权活动有关的物品;对有证据证明是侵犯奥林匹克标志专有权的物品,予以查封或者扣押。工商行政管理部门依法行使前款规定的职权时,当事人应当予以协助、配合,不得拒绝、阻挠。

　　第十二条　迸出口货物涉嫌侵犯奥林匹克标志专有权的,由海关参照《中华人民共和国海关法》和《中华人民共和国知识产权海关保护条例》规定的权限和程序查处。

　　第十三条　侵犯奥林匹克标志专有权的赔偿数额,按照权利人因被侵权所受到的损失或者侵权人因侵权所获得的利益确定,包括为制止侵权行为所支付的合理开支;被侵权人的损失或者侵权人获得的利益难以确定的,参照该奥林匹克标志许可使用费合理确定。销售不知道是侵犯奥林匹克标志专有权的商品,能证明该商品是自己合法取得并说明提供者的,不承担赔偿责任。

　　第十四条　奥林匹克标志除依照本条例受到保护外,还可以依照《中华人民共和国著作权法》、《中华人民共和国商标法》、《中华人民共和国专利法》、《特殊标志管理条例》等法律、行政法规的规定获得保护。

　　第十五条　本条例自2002年4月1日起施行。

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