The National Olympic Committee of Kenya has issued a legal advisory on the expected conduct by corporates during the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The advisory was issued in regard to the Olympic Charter of 2020 and IOC Commercial Opportunities Guidelines 2020, all Olympic properties which include but are not limited to the Olympic rings, the Olympic Anthem, the Olympic flag, the Olympic motto, Olympic flame and torches, the Olympic designations, words “Olympics”, “Tokyo 2020”,
“Team Kenya” and all other Team “X” to refer to the competing teams, and the names, images, and likeness of Team Kenya sportsmen and women, are under the custody of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya on behalf of the International Olympics Committee. As such, any use or exploitation of these properties must be cleared and licensed by the National Olympic Committee of Kenya,” read the statement.
No corporate entity, unless otherwise authorized and recognized as a Partner of Team Kenya, has the right to use or publish them for purposes of direct or inferred marketing campaigns.
This categorically includes congratulatory messages on social media and all other public platforms including but not limited to TV advertising and print advertising attempting to infer an association with the Games or the team. Congratulatory messages are not generic and only a preserve of authorized Partners.
Influencers and celebrities are also cautioned against associating their sponsored posts with the Olympic Games. Ambush marketing is frowned upon and will result in legal action.
On social media, #TeamKenya #Tokyo2020 #Olympics and derivatives created from the Olympics properties, are only the preserve of the official National Olympic Committee of Kenya sponsors. The only exception to the use of #TeamKenya shall be for purposes of editorial news reporting by media houses duly licensed by the Communications Authority of Kenya.
Private citizens will continue to enjoy the use of #TeamKenya and other affiliated hashtags created solely for personal use on social media.
For the avoidance of doubt, the official Team Kenya Partners are Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage, Kenya Breweries Ltd – Tusker, Kenya Charity Sweepstake, and Safaricom.
International IOC partners, who are not sponsors of Team Kenya also have no rights to use the image and likeness of Team Kenya.
“In the spirit of patriotism, the National Olympic Committee of Kenya asks you to respect this legal advisory. Let us protect the value of our athletes by observing this legal advisory,” said NOCK.
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