Olympic and Paralympic Marks Act

Marginal note:Prohibited marks

• 3 (1) No person shall adopt or use in connection with a business, as a trade-mark or otherwise, an Olympic or Paralympic mark or a mark that so nearly resembles an Olympic or Paralympic mark as to be likely to be mistaken for it.

• Marginal note:Prohibited marks — translations

  (2) No person shall use in connection with a business, as a trade-mark or otherwise, a mark that is a translation in any language of an Olympic or Paralympic mark.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to an organizing committee, the COC or the CPC.

• Marginal note:Excepted uses

  (4) Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) prevents

  • (a) the adoption, use or registration, as a trade-mark or otherwise, of a mark described in subsection (1) or (2) if the person has obtained the written consent of an organizing committee during any period prescribed by regulation or of the COC or the CPC during any other period, and acts in accordance with that consent;

  • (b) the use of a trade-mark by an owner or licensee of the trade-mark if an owner or licensee of the trade-mark used it before March 2, 2007 and the use subsequent to that date is in association with

    • (i) the same goods or services as those for which the trade-mark was used before that date,

    • (ii) the goods or services in respect of which it is registered under the Trade-marks Act, or

    • (iii) any other goods or services of the same general class as that for which it is registered or was, before that date, used;

  • (c) the use of a trade-mark by an owner or licensee of the trade-mark if an owner or licensee of the trade-mark used it before the day of publication in Part I of the Canada Gazette of an order that, by adding a mark to Schedule 1 or 2, prohibits the use of the trade-mark and the use subsequent to that day is in association with

    • (i) the same goods or services as those for which the trade-mark was used before that date,

    • (ii) the goods or services in respect of which it is registered under the Trade-marks Act, or

    • (iii) any other goods or services of the same general class as that for which it is registered or was, before that date, used;

  • (d) the use by Her Majesty, a university or a public authority, or a person authorized by Her Majesty, the university or the public authority, of a badge, crest, emblem or other mark in respect of which Her Majesty, the university or the public authority, as the case may be, has requested that the Registrar give public notice under paragraph 9(1)(n) of the Trade-marks Act, if the notice is given before March 2, 2007;

  • (e) the use by Her Majesty, a university or a public authority, or a person authorized by Her Majesty, the university or the public authority, of a badge, crest, emblem or other mark in respect of which Her Majesty, the university or the public authority, as the case may be, has requested that the Registrar give public notice under paragraph 9(1)(n) of the Trade-marks Act, if the notice is given before the day of publication in Part I of the Canada Gazette of an order that, by adding a mark to Schedule 1 or 2, prohibits the use of the badge, crest, emblem or other mark;

  • (f) the use of a protected geographical indication identifying a wine or spirit or an agricultural product or food if the wine or spirit or the agricultural product or food originates in the territory indicated by the indication;

  • (g) the use by a person of their address, the geographical name of their place of business, an accurate indication of the origin of their goods or services, or an accurate description of their goods or services to the extent that the description is necessary to explain those goods or services to the public;

  • (h) the use by an individual of their name; or

  • (i) the use by an individual who has been selected by the COC or the CPC to compete, or has competed, in an Olympic Games or Paralympic Games, or another person with that individual’s consent, of the mark “Olympian”, “Olympic”, “Olympien” or “Olympique”, or “Paralympian”, “Paralympic”, “Paralympien” or “Paralympique”, as the case may be, in reference to the individual’s participation in, or selection for, those Games.

• Marginal note:Clarification

  (5) For greater certainty, the use of an Olympic or Paralympic mark or a translation of it in any language in the publication or broadcasting of a news report relating to Olympic Games or Paralympic Games, including by means of electronic media, or for the purposes of criticism or parody relating to Olympic Games or Paralympic Games, is not a use in connection with a business.

• Marginal note:Clarification

  (6) For greater certainty, the inclusion of an Olympic or Paralympic mark or a translation of it in any language in an artistic work, within the meaning of the Copyright Act, by the author of that work, is not in itself a use in connection with a business if the work is not reproduced on a commercial scale.