Warning to advertisers on 2012 cash-in
Under the 2006 London Olympic Games and Paralympics Games Act, normally innocuous words such as ‘Game’, ‘Medals’, ‘Gold’, ‘2012’ and ‘Summer’ cannot be combined in any form of advertising around the Olympics, with anyone flouting the law facing a fine of up to £20,000…
The legislation is based on that used for the 2000 Sydney Games, created to protect official sponsors’ investments, and is a requirement for any Olympic host nation.
I didn’t know about this. From a free speech perspective, it’s really worrisome. Although I doubt many important speech acts are outlawed by this, in principle, this is a ruthless commercial interest buying legislation designed to protect it. It’s such an alarming development that it alone could be reason for a country not to host the Olympics. (via)
