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Chemists Make Olympic Rings On a Molecular Scale

Posted by samzenpus on from the arts-and-crafts dept.

ananyo writes "Chemists in the UK have made a five-ring polyaromatic hydrocarbon and dubbed it 'olympicene'. The molecule is just a couple of nanometers wide and can be regarded as a little fragment of graphene. Strictly speaking, of course, the molecule might constitute an 'unofficial use' of the motif and land the scientists in court for copyright infringement."

25 of 89 comments (clear)

  1. Finally! by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Finally, an Olympics logo that accurately represents how little I care about the Olympics. They used to be meaningful, but they've devolved into just another international political dog and pony show.

    1. Re:Finally! by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 3, Insightful

      They are still meaningful to the athletes. The olympians that I have met (all Team USA Track & Field) pretty much ignore the politics as much as possible. They just want a chance to compete.

      Then perhaps the athletes can organize and pay for their own show?

      I personally gave up on them when they started letting Pro Athletes into the games. Those Basketball and Hockey dream teams were the exact opposite of what the games should be. I remember how exciting it was in th e1980 winter Olympics, when the US beat the professional (foro all intents and purposes) Russians. Fast forward to the professionals today, and you can understand why the world will root against you.

      It was a disappointment when they changed the women's gymnastics purposefully to favor extreme small size. It changed that sport from graceful ladies to little trolls on the mats.

      Finally, the endless "gifts" for the selection committees, the frank bribes as in the Salt Lake City incident, the corrupt judges, and you have a must miss event.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  2. The Summer Event Police are coming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Summer Event Police will be arresting them and locking them in the Twenty Twelve containment area under Stratford.

    All worship our Penta-ringed overlords.

  3. Trademark, not copyright by bunratty · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Aren't the rings a trademark, not a copyright? Trademarks must be defended, otherwise the owner may lose the right to exclusive use of the trademark.

    --
    What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
    1. Re:Trademark, not copyright by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Don't worry. The IOC and their local corporations that sponsor the games and license the trademarks are nothing if not diligent in defending their trademarks. When the winter olympics were held here in Vancouver in 2010, much to my dismay, they scanned the city and sent out letters to any business that had any word like olympic in it that they were infringing on their trademarks and had to desist. Poor old Olympic Pizza. They'd been in business for over 30 years under that name but now THEY were infringing. The copyright laws even were amended so that sentences with the words or phrases with the following strings in close proximity were copyright protected to the VOC; 2010, olympic, winter, and a number of sports names.

      Dog and pony show where the venues are selected not by whether the community really wants/needs/can afford to host the games but by how much swag the selection committee can take away from that town. Our city and the local taxpayers are on the hook for almost $500 million for the real estate blunder that started as the place where the athletes were to be housed. And I don't want to know how much it cost to truck and helicopter in all the snow from the interior to blanket the mountains deep enough for the events to be held. What a waste. It sickens me every time I see a sign still up boasting about how Vancouver hosted the 2010 winter olympics. If it weren't for family concerns, I'd move to Owl's Anus, Alberta. Sorry, that turned into a rant but it felt very good to get it said. If anyone reading this ever gets a chance to speak out against or otherwise block their city from hosting an olympics, do it.

    2. Re:Trademark, not copyright by Zorpheus · · Score: 4, Informative

      They actually did in 1995, but without success. Just found this as a reference on wikipedia: http://www.autoevolution.com/news/audi-reveals-updated-logo-10315.html

    3. Re:Trademark, not copyright by anyGould · · Score: 3, Informative

      I don't see how it's relevant, since the Olympic Committee isn't a profit making corporation, but is actually only a group who organise a non-profit event for the promotion of sports worldwide, right? What's a trademark if they're not actually trading in anything after all.

      The Olympics haven't been non-profit in many years. (I'm sure they're officially non-profit for tax purposes, but not in the "we don't make money at this" sense).

      For instance, between 2005-2008, the IOC (home of "Olympics, Inc.") generated nearly six billion dollars in revenue. And remember, the terms of hosting the Games is that you, not they, are responsible for any and all cost overruns.

      There's plenty of reading out there showing the real reasons why cities and countries bid for the Five Ring Circus. (Vancouver in particular is a nice case study.)

    4. Re:Trademark, not copyright by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 2

      I don't see how it's relevant, since the Olympic Committee isn't a profit making corporation, but is actually only a group who organise a non-profit event for the promotion of sports worldwide, right? What's a trademark if they're not actually trading in anything after all.

      Was that a joke? Now drop your daily gifts off with the selection committee, and stop talking.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  4. They get the gold in the nerd olympics by _0x783czar · · Score: 5, Funny

    now can they make a microscopic torch and a nano bot to carry it?

    --
    ~theCzar
  5. Category error by James_Duncan8181 · · Score: 2

    Trademark infringement. Trademark.

    --
    "To any truly impartial person, it would be obvious that I am right."
    1. Re:Category error by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      To be fair, when their own enforcement officers can't tell the difference, why expect a little news article to get it right?

      http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4342335/Olympic-ban-for-florist.html

      Coca-Cola threatened her for copyright infringement over their trademark. It was said literally one sentence after another.

      So I in fact think it is perfectly justified to *repeat* the threats of trademark infringement and copyright infringement as Coca-Cola themselves have stated.

  6. Hardcoded famous trademark by tepples · · Score: 4, Informative

    As I understand it, countries that have hosted the Olympic Games have to treat the rings and other IOC symbols as hardcoded famous trademarks, with sui generis restrictions that parallel the dilution restrictions on famous trademarks.

    1. Re:Hardcoded famous trademark by NicknamesAreStupid · · Score: 3, Interesting

      In the spirit of competition, these chemists will patent the process, which will trump the trademark. Touché

    2. Re:Hardcoded famous trademark by girlintraining · · Score: 2

      As I understand it, countries that have hosted the Olympic Games have to treat the rings and other IOC symbols as hardcoded famous trademarks

      Yeah, another example of how copyrights and trademarks can never die; 776 BC and it still hasn't expired.

      --
      #fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
    3. Re:Hardcoded famous trademark by camperdave · · Score: 4, Informative

      The olympic rings were designed in 1912, not -775

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    4. Re:Hardcoded famous trademark by bunratty · · Score: 2

      No, a patent on the process would only mean that others would not be able to use the process without getting a license from the owners of the patent. I give people who confuse copyrights, trademarks, and patents and cannot reason about them the same consideration as people who consider LSD and heroin to be similar because they're both illegal drugs. Both groups of people just give their predictable knee-jerk reactions: drugs are bad, IP protections are bad.

      --
      What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
  7. Doubly sad by quacking+duck · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The first thing I thought as soon as I read the first sentence was that the Olympic authorities would be all over them. The second was seeing that the submitter had also thought the same thing.

    Just another indication of how badly the Olympics have been corrupted--and how they in turn corrupt the IP laws of host countries like a cancer.

    1. Re:Doubly sad by Inda · · Score: 2

      Host countries like my own.

      We've been watching the torch being bussed around the country via the BBC's live stream. I don't know about other countries, but ours have flashing 30mph signs that only flash when you're going above the speed limit. We've been counting...

      I'm not doing so well at the game. I've only counted them speeding twice.

      The laws don't apply to those in charge.

      Corrupted.

      --
      This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
  8. close, except the olympic rings... by doug141 · · Score: 4, Informative

    interlock, instead of sharing edges.

    1. Re:close, except the olympic rings... by Zocalo · · Score: 2

      True, but on the scale of things this is a very small nitpick. Positively microscopic, one might say.

      --
      UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
  9. Not linked! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well it's OK I suppose, but the rings in the olympiadane molecule are properly linked, and that was synthesized already back in 1994.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympiadane

  10. Rather apt by bazmail · · Score: 4, Funny

    Rather apt i'd say considering so many of the athletes are chemistry buffs themselves. I care not a jot.

    1. Re:Rather apt by Dogbertius · · Score: 2

      Rather apt i'd say considering so many of the athletes are chemistry buffs themselves. I care not a jot.

      Rather apt i'd say considering so many of the athletes are chemically buffed themselves.

      FTFY :)

  11. It's time to disband the IOC and reboot the games. by aristotle-dude · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think the IOC has strayed way too far from the original principles of the olympic games and it might be time to reboot the games.

    We all have a responsibility to "vote" with our wallets and eyes by refusing to buy anything related to the olympics and to not watch the games. Stop the madness and save the original spirit of the games. The games were supposed to be about amateur sport, not money.

    --
    Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
  12. Re:It's time to disband the IOC and reboot the gam by LocalH · · Score: 2

    Good luck with that.

    Myself, I haven't watched the games in decades nor have I bought anything "Olympic". You're only starting now?

    --
    FC Closer