A car dealership in Schweinfurt advertised a vehicle as 'Our Offer for Olympia 2008'. According to a ruling by the Nuremberg-Fürth Regional Court, this does not constitute a violation of the Act on the Protection of the Olympic Emblem and Olympic Designations (OlympSchG).
A car dealership in Schweinfurt had advertised a vehicle on its website with the slogan 'FlatRateEdition Beijing. Our Offer for Olympia 2008'. The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) deemed this a violation of the OlympSchG, which, among other things, protects the designation 'Olympia'. Consequently, the DOSB issued a legal warning to the car dealership. While the dealership subsequently committed to refraining from such advertising in the future, it was unwilling to bear the legal costs claimed by the DOSB for the warning. The Nuremberg-Fürth Regional Court dismissed the corresponding lawsuit with a judgment dated December 12, 2012.
In its judgment, the Regional Court stated that while the term 'Olympia', protected by law, had been used in a commercial context without the consent of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, as the rights holder, this would only be unlawful under the statutory provisions if there was a risk of confusion or if the appreciation of the Olympic Games was unfairly impaired or exploited. However, neither of these conditions was met in this case. Specifically, the challenged advertisement did not create the impression that the car dealership was a sponsor of the Olympic Games. Furthermore, the advertisement did not suggest to customers that the advertised vehicle possessed a special, 'Olympic-grade' quality, and finally, the reputation of the Olympic Games was not impaired by the use of the slogan. Since no legal infringement was therefore present, the defendant car dealership was not required to pay the warning costs.
(Nuremberg-Fürth Regional Court, judgment of December 12, 2012, file ref.: 3 O 10482/11)
Note:
Pursuant to § 44 of the Ordinance on Jurisdictions in the Area of
of the State Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (GZVJu), the Nuremberg-Fürth Regional Court has jurisdiction over all disputes under the OlympschG in the area of the Nuremberg and Bamberg Higher Regional Court districts.
Source: Press release by Dr. Michael Hammer, Judge at the Nuremberg Higher Regional Court, Judicial Press Spokesperson
Goldberg Attorneys at Law 2013
Attorney Michael Ullrich, LL.M. (Information Law)
Specialist Attorney for Information Technology Law
Email: info@goldberg.de
