Slashdot Mirror
Canadian Gov't Grants Olympics Ownership of Winter
An anonymous reader writes "Michael Geist reports that the Canadian government has introduced new legislation that grants Vancouver Olympic organizers broad powers to police the use of any commercial use of the words associated with the Olympics. These incredibly include 'winter, Vancouver, and games.' As Geist notes, the government 'has no time to deal with spam, spyware, privacy, or net neutrality, but commits to legislation on behalf of the organizers of a sporting event?'"
Don't, you, wish, we, could, afford, to, buy, our, own, legislators? Life, would, be, so, much, easier, if, all, your, words, are, belong, to, me!
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
So much for that Winter Water Polo league I was going to start. Oh, wait, I'm not in Canada. Oh, wait, I'm in the US, we'll have stricter laws next week.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
This is likely part of agreements made in secret host city dealings with the Olympic committees. It seems to happen in all other host cities. Next up is the restriction of references to non-sponsored products and services. Sure, your rights have been stricken... but at least you can enjoy a nice cold Coca Cola while you watch the sporting events on the CBC.
Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
It's a good thing that the Canadian govt will deal with adware by procecuting anyone who dares to get on the Olympic bandwagon with spam or adware... Or will they? Nah.
All men can fly, but sadly, only in one direction--Down.
the government 'has no time to deal with spam, spyware, privacy, or net neutrality, but commits to legislation on behalf of the organizers of a sporting event?'
You bring a few billion dollars of economic activity, and the government will listen to you too.
A billion here, a billion there, soon you're talking real money.
The masses really ARE that stupid.
In any sane world, people restricting the use of the words "games", "Vancouver" and "winter" would prompt an immediate response from the masses. People would be calling and writing into Ottawa to complain.
In this world, people do nothing, and only us geeks get up in arms.
Consider what's been happening lately. It's been demonstrated that companies can and will be granted exclusive patent rights on obvious things, that other companies can and will be granted rights to parts of the human genome, and now that the very use of certain common and ancient words is being restricted.
When will this shit stop?
The governments of the western world talk a good talk about "freedom", but doesn't "freedom" mean the freedom to say "winter", the freedom to study human genetics, the freedom to write software without fear of patent suits?
Are we really "free", or merely "freer"? (Freer than, say, the North Koreans...)
With spending like this, exactly what are "conservatives" conserving?
Dear Mr. Zonk and Cmdrtaco,
t has come to my attention that you have made an unauthorized use of the copyrighted words "WINTER", "VANCOUVER" and "OLYMPICS" (the "Work") in the preparation of a Slashdot article entitled "CANADIAN GOV'T GRANTS OLYMPICS OWNERSHIP OF WINTER" (the "Article"). I have reserved all rights in the Work, granted my the Canadian Government. Your work entitled "CANADIAN GOV'T GRANTS OLYMPICS OWNERSHIP OF WINTER" is essentially identical to the Work and clearly used the Work as its basis.
As you neither asked for nor received permission to use the Work as the basis for the Article nor to make or distribute copies, including electronic copies, of same, I believe you have willfully infringed my rights under 17 U.S.C. Section 101 et seq. and could be liable for statutory damages as high as $150,000 as set forth in Section 504(c)(2) therein.
I demand that you immediately cease the use and distribution of all infringing works derived from the Work, and all copies, including electronic copies, of same, that you deliver to me, if applicable, all unused, undistributed copies of same, or destroy such copies immediately and that you desist from this or any other infringement of my rights in the future. If I have not received an affirmative response from you by [date give them about 2 weeks] indicating that you have fully complied with these requirements, I shall take further action against you.
Very truly yours,
The Krazy Kanuck Kommitee
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Join us in Vancouver as the Winter Olymmpics take posession of the English language and rule it with an iron fist.
Just goes to show you, Canadian politicians are as corrupt as American politicians. They just have way less power.
Oh yeah, let's all blame Cananda, eh?
It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
Of course we pwn3d winter. We're Canadians!!!
What about the the First Amendment? What? They dont have that in Canada? How about the Second? They dont have that either? Well at least they got pot.
Libertarian Leaning Political Discussion Forum.
Welcome to our Cold season play !
or :
01impyc gam3s !
or
That event which should rename nameless due to legal usage of certain word pertaining to greece, plays, and the snowy season.
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
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visit randi.org
Hey! You're infringing on my copyright/patent/trademark on the words "to", "you", and "are"!
If you don't stop, I'll complain to the RIAA/MPAA/God/Canada, and you'll be sorry then!
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
No, "Winter" is not being given away, just the right to use the word in certain advertising contexts that could be confused with the winter games. Every Olympic games there are vulture companies that tie themselves in advertising knots to appear to be official supporters without actually being. They use phrases like "Official supporter of Winter sports". This always burns my bacon that they get away with it. If you want to cash in on the Olympics, then support them and get the rights. Otherwise, get lost.
The courts have better things do deal with than tie themselves in knots over this. I can't see this really being applied except in blatant cases, and overall I think it's a good thing. Another thing I can't see is why this is being painted so negatively.
Alright, I got my First Post and had my fun, so now I've read TFA, and I have to ask...
By that wording, it seems possible that "considered" merely means these are pointers, not actual rules -- thus, a federal court should "consider" someone's "Winter clothing line" or somesuch, but should also be allowed to make common sense and not assume that's intended to confuse people about the Olympics.
Hell, they could just be a list of keywords for prosecutors to repeatedly hit up Google with.
It still doesn't make it right, though. Remember the quote from the summary:
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
This post expresses my opinion, not that of my employer. And yes, IAAL.
Some MP introduced a new bill. Any MP can introduce any bill he or she wants. That doesn't make it law.
And even if it was law, it does serve a valid purpose - to crack down on "ambush" marketing, where companies try to underhandedly suggest they are associated with the olympics when they are not.
Save all the extremist knee-jerk reactions for after 1) the bill is made into law and 2) it is used to sue some poor sob who uses the word 'winter' on a lost dog poster.
We're promoting our official beverages and foods to be enjoyed at our alternative Quadrennial Cold-Climate-Oriented Amateur Athletic Competition Festival (QCCOAACF).
[my apologies if QCCOAACF actually means something in some Inuit language]
it's a blue bright blue Saturday hey hey
The same craziness happened for the London Olympics too. (Although nothing our government does at the moment surprises me).
Rich.
libguestfs - tools for accessing and modifying virtual machine disk images
Make up new words to refer to the oly..er.. the ga... the wi... the sporting rubbish.
For using the terms Winter Wonderland and Reindeer Games. He's appealing based on prior art but it doesn't look good for the jolly ole boy. Guess some government officials can look forward to coal in their stockings.
I submit that the bill is very excellently worded, and I challenge you (or anyone else) to read the bill and come up with an example where the bill would unfairly restrict your freedom. By that, I mean restrict you from doing anything except ambush marketing. Anyone that needs to use any of the "restricted" words in order to promote legitimate business can do so:So, as you can see, that little exception covers pretty much any legitimate use you might have. Describe how exactly this is Orwellian, please.
Okay. I can see how it's generally bad to falseley claim direct involvement with the Olympics, but the Olympics have been getting more and more protective of their IP rights. I could understand this if it was a commercial concern, but the Olympics should be purer than that. It should be run for the benefit of the people, to encourage international cooperation and promote sport.
When did things change?
I know my law degree is in the mail, but even a layman can understand the following:
(1) No person shall, during any period prescribed by regulation, in association with a trade-mark or other mark, promote or otherwise direct public attention to their business, wares or services in a manner that misleads or is likely to mislead the public into believing that
(a) the person's business, wares or services are approved, authorized or endorsed by an organizing committee, the COC or the CPC; or
(b) a business association exists between the person's business and the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, an organizing committee, the COC or the CPC.
The law essentially says you cannot mislead the public with advertising or promotions that suggest your business is endorsed by or connected to the Olympic Games and/or one of the organizing committess.
The law goes on to say:
(2) In determining whether a person has acted contrary to subsection (1), the court shall take into account any evidence that the person has used, in any language,
(a) a combination of expressions set out in Part 1 of Schedule 3; or
(b) the combination of an expression set out in Part 1 of Schedule 3 with an expression set out in Part 2 of that Schedule.
So, the law does not prohibit a business from using the words "Vancouver", "winter" or "Whistler", only when they are used in combination with the following words and likely to cause to confusion with the Olympic trademarks and/or suggest an endorsement or relationship that does not exist:
1. Games
2. 2010
3. Twenty-ten
4. 21st
5. Twenty-first
6. XXIst
7. 10th
8. Tenth
9. Xth
10. Medals
That's pretty much it. Draconian? Not really. Overly broad? Perhaps.
Words such as 'words,' 'such,' 'as,' and 'and' to enter public domain shortly.
I mean, really, I thought it was OK for people to do ANYTHING in advertising. Why can't you piggy-back on the success of a giant, if you can deceive small children in toy advertisements? Even if it wasn't such a common word as 'Winter.'
It just struck me, though. What are people supposed to say? 'This snowy season?'
Please stop stalking me, bro.
Bottom line - if you want your city to host an Olympics, you have to promise to pass this sort of law. A similar piece of legislation was passed in the UK a couple of weeks after London won 2012.
I'm really glad, as a Canadian, my government is doing this. I think we've seen in the past all the social, economic and environmental problems that stem from an Olympic host-city not have complete trademark sovereignty. Now all those cheap, knock-off t-shirts and gimmicky souvenirs will associated with large highly commercialized events will be avoided, hence the negative financial impact on the licensed vendors; and the environmental fallout of the landfills of the world when this crap get thrown out two weeks later. I'm already sleeping better.
WTF is wrong with this world? It's like they just sit around the parliaments playing games of oneupmanship to see who can come up with the biggest waste of time, useless-as-shit-in-a-sock things to make law about. Here's a law I propose, NO lobbyist. Ever. Or money in politics. If you serve in the legislature and get money, you get shot. Out of a cannon. Into the Sun. Just a thought.
"The law essentially says you cannot mislead the public with advertising or promotions that suggest your business is endorsed by or connected to the Olympic Games and/or one of the organizing committess."
r o&search=Search
OK, fine, but why specificity? Is it really legal to mislead the public now with advertising or promotions that suggest your business is endorsed by or connected to random entity when it is in fact not? If not, why is the law needed, if so, why not fix it and write a general law?
all the best,
drew
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=zotzb
FreeMusicPush If you want to see more Free Music made, listen to Free
Sorry, Marshall Kirk McKusick is caucasian.
If a business falsely claims to have sponsored an event or organization, give that organization the right to sue said business.
If a business claims to have sponsored a non-existing organization, give consumer associations the right to sue.
Ever wonder why you often hear the superbowl referred to as "The Big Game"? Because the NFL owns the word "Superbowl" so it can't be used without their express, written permission. I guess broadcasters won't be able to refer to the "Winter Games" in Canada?
Vancouver Winter Games
Vancouver Winter Games
Vancouver Winter Games
Vancouver Winter Games
Just wanted to get that in for our Canadian friends. If you read this in Canada, I am hereby claiming "Prior Art" and granting all Canadians free use of any or all parts of the phrase "Vancouver Winter Games" in perpetuity.
1 in 4 Maine children in struggle with hunger.
If only countries hadn't already been bitten by the exact same laws. I recall that at the last Olympics they had a similar thing, with words like Olympics, gold, silver, and bronze--along with dates and location the name (I'm sorry, I can't even remember what they were, but that's passable on Slashdot, right? :D). One feller, by the surname Olympic, had a place called Olympic's Pizza. He owned this for years, from what I understand. Of course, he was sued and couldn't possible pay legal fees. Supposedly, many papers couldn't (or wouldn't) even use his name in reporting these events. I can't for the life of me find an article relating to this (I know I've seen more than one), I'm sure someone else can.
When I heard of the Olympics coming to Canada, this was the first thing I thought about. They really have grown too powerful...
From the fucking bill:
Words like "Winter" and "Vancouver" appear in Part 2 of Schedule 3. Using these words by themselves in combination with each other for commercial purposes does not violate the Act. In order to do that, you have to mix in phrases from Part 1 of Schedule 3, which are slightly more specific phrases like "2010" and "Twenty-first".
The Act is clearly stupid and overly broad. It would be nice if someone challenged such that the Supreme Court could strike it down (and we all know that they would). That said, it's unfortunate that Michael Geist feels he has to lie to get his point across. Attacking the bill by what it says is a perfectly valid position to take. What Michael Geist has down is built up a strawman to tear down, and misrepresented the bill. This really makes me question his credibility on other things he's said.
Fascism is government by corporations.
--
make install -not war
Not this silly liberal propagandist again.
There must be an election coming up. The fool stays suspiciously quiet when the liberals are in power.
Party like it's 2010!
"My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right." --Senator Carl Schurz (1872)
After an election, do all politicians have commen sense removed? It doesn't matter where they are they all seem capable of this kind of stupidity. This might prove evolution of a new species: the Thundering Herd of Dumbass!
Professional Politicians are not the solution, they ARE the problem.
That's not to say that this is a good thing, but please, get some understanding of the issue before acting like the word "winter" will be banned.
If I wanted to make a profit, there are plenty of things I'd consider before hosting the Olympics. Like.... not hosting the Olympics and keeping the money in my pocket.
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
As a Canadian, I remember we went through this sort of thing the last time the Olympic Winter Games were held in Canada, in Calgary, in the year 1988.
There was a whack-a-mole attack on anything "infringing". God forbid you should use the word "Olympic". If an eatery in Toronto's Greek immigrant district was called "Olympic Restaurant", demands would be made to change the name.
This campaign reached its peak (IIRC) when demands were made that Olympic Airways, the national airline of Greece, stop flying to Canada under that name. The issue got some embarrassing press coverage. As a result, "Olympic Airways" was allowed to continue, on condition that it provide some free trips to the organization running the games.
It seems to me that the Olympic Games, like other businesses, is entitled to reasonable copyright and trademark protection. However, I am uneasy about special laws and draconian enforcement for the purpose.
... London, Ontario
Damn. I always go to Winterlude in Ottawa every Winter. And then there's the Quebec City Winter Carnival. Damn.
The olympics have a history of this. Far too much corruption, intimidation, and plain out extortion. The fact that they try to enforce some kind of corporate ownership of everyday words does not suprise me.
I always go out of my way to avoid the products of ANY company that aligns itself with the olympic brand. It's marketing at its most pathetic and annoying.
The way the olympic commitee jets around the world expecting to be showered with gifts and bribes in order to choose cities is possibly the worst example. I'd love a group of nations to club together and say "fuck the olympics. Lets start up a new 'international games'. One day maybe..."
DRM-free indie games for the PC and Mac: Positech Games
Part of me would rather the government leave things as they are vis a vis some of the stuff Geist says they should be doing. By mucking about with the games stuff and other trivia they are not bothering with the MPAA and RIAA's sponsored Canadian proxies. As people here know, at present we can download music etc, etc nice and legal like and other stuff. While I would like some of the things Geist mentioned addressed, reality has taught me that once you involve the government that such things rarely go as you would like. Better to keep them distracted with this stuff.
Read it? The chain of radio stations I work for has lived it for years now. I take it none of the authors submitting posts like yours works in media or advertising, or lives in the area. The sentiments are sweet but ignore one vital component, the permission side. By 'protecting' these words the OC is granted permission to sue to oblivion any small firm that combines the name of their city with a year or mention of the largest event to ever happen in Whistler.How did you believe this would be policed? No one in this area will risk combining - for the love of god - words for their city, a year and the very reason Whistler grew into existance (winter games) for fear of triggering a lawsuit. Sure, they may win, after years of legal battle, small consolation when you're bankrupt.
Yes, those whom it actually affects, as opposed to Internet wonks, consider it very draconian. Even money says a court challenge would see this directive contravene the Bill of Rights as well.
I don't think the law in the US says they own winter or anything, but we do have a special super-trademark set for them by law (and international treaty?). I suppose they have a point in not wanting people mislead about who paid the IOC money, but such sponsorships certainly don't make me want to buy their crap.
Personally, I'm nothing but sick of the damn games. I honestly don't care, not even one tiny bit, about them.
Setting completely aside the appropriateness of the actual content, I'm wondering about the purveyors. Since when is it the responsibility of the federal government to create laws to police specific marks? If the federal government (I guess it would have to be the US, to make this analogy work) were to pass a law specifically reserving the word "Microsoft" to MSFT or "Apple" to AAPL, would that be the same thing, and would it be within their realm of responsibility in the first place? Why don't the Olympics use the existing legal remedies to protect their interests?
I just don't see how it's the federal government's business.
Stasis is death. Embrace change.
I'm glad I don't live in the United Stat- oh, wait. This time it's Canada.
Fuck.
Now that they own winter, cant they take it away? I'm sick and tired of it.
[alk]
Back in the 1982 there was a new quadrennial international competition for gay and lesbian athletes called the "Gay Olympics". The International and U.S. Olympic Commmitees people stomped on this organization (while condoning the Special Olympics, the Police Olympics, and even the Nebraska Rat Olympics), forcing them to change the name of their event to the "Gay Games". Under this legislation, I guess they'd be banned from using even that name... would the "Gay Things" be OK?
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
Comment removed based on user account deletion
The Edgar Winter Group and Arthur C. Clarke are screwed.
Mod Karma -1: I sed bad wurds. If I cep my mouf shut, I wud be at riyses.
Yours is a typical response from an extreme partisan who only notices critiques when it is against members of your own clan.
Michael is non-partisan, and had much more to say about the Liberals given they were trying to do more. Are you thinking of the attacks of the current Conservative Heritage Minister for her questionable campaign financing which was largely ignored during the election because the Liberal Sam Bulte was far worse?
The fact that Michael has been harder on the Liberals doesn't mean that they were worse, just that they were in power longer. They actually tabled a stupid copyright bill (Bill C-60), while the Conservatives haven't tabled one yet -- but it is expected to be as bad if not worse given the closer ties the Conservatives have to the US government, the largest lobbiests to bring in bad copyright law.
Digital Copyright Canada forum
It's very easy to become cynical when looking at government. But cynicism is a kind of trap.
I know people who have worked directly at both state and federal level (in the United States). They all tell me the same thing: A well written letter to a Congresscritter gets their attention in a big way.
Another general rule is that the effective Congresscritters -- the ones who truly get things done -- are not publicity hounds. One of the most effective lobbyists I know of says, "I stay out of newspapers on purpose; if I was in them, I couldn't get anything done." He has quietly done much good to the city I live in. "It's amazing what you can do, if you don't insist on credit for it", he tells me.
Concerned on the destructive effects of patents in software? Have you written a letter to your Congresscritter? Do so. It really makes a difference. You may want to give a simple and clear example why software patents are such bad news.
Writing such a letter isn't futile. That person is your *Representative*. It is their job to represent you. But it's an act of faith. You haven't given in and said, "My voice will make no difference." In fact, it will. (And it will be multiplied by the ones that have given up.)
Write.
David Small