Olympic Symbolism
Just a general caution to all Crocheters to please ensure you are adhering to the Copyright and Trademark Protections of the Summer Olympics. With the Summer Olympics now happening in Rio, it is imperative that you watch what you are making and displaying online of your work if you are trying to mimic or copy something based on the Olympics.
Of all copyright and trademarked symbols, the Olympics are one of the most guarded and protected symbols globally. It is one organization that heavily guards its symbolism and copyright.
The Olympic Rings are sacred and the colours used. In the history of my crochet, I have stayed away from using this symbolism in any of my work to prevent myself from receiving notification from the Olympic Committee. You don’t have to be big to be noticed. A simple search online based on your comment or status update can red flag you.
It’s fabulous to support your country with the summer Olympics but be cautious if you are self creating items and referring them to the Olympics. “It may be one diddle that cannot be undid!” Retailers have licenses to sell Olympic Gear items granted by the Olympics Committee.
It is best to refrain from using the words Olympics in your creations or any insinuating statements that directly ties in the Olympics. I know for a fact, you want to show your support for the Olympics through your yarn arts, just be careful and honour the Trademark and Copyright Laws in this case.
For the protection of The Crochet Crowd, we will not be sharing any projects or creations from fans that reflect the Olympics. In doing so, our shares can reach up to 3 million people and will get noticed. For the protection of the crocheters and ourselves, as a business, we prefer not to go down that road. We love creativity, we don’t love if it’s doing so at a great risk that can involve legal matters.
The Olympics are fun but there are some things in life that is not worth risking. This happens to be one of them.
Generally speaking, any logo or trademark that is not yours has this protection. While you can get away with some things, there are other companies like Disney and movie productions that take their artwork very seriously.
Michael
