China´s Pledge To Protect Olympic IP Rights

Summary

China will be an enthusiastic host for the 2008 Olympic Games, but will it adequately protect the intellectual property rights associated with the event? Kenny Wong examines the IP-protection aspects of China's Olympic preparations.

Success of the Sydney Olympic Games

By nearly any measure, the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games were by far the most successful Olympic Games in history. Before the 2002 World Cup, the 2000 Olympic Games were the most watched sports event in history, with more than 3.7 billion viewers across 220 countries tuning in to watch the more than 3,500 hours of coverage produced by the host broadcaster over the 17 days of Olympic competition. The honourable spirit and philosophy of the Olympic Games no doubt played a role in the enormous success, but the main factors were the careful protection of Olympic-related intellectual property rights and an Olympic-sized marketing effort.