Olympic Properties

What is commercial use? Commercial use means use of the Olympic Properties for the manufacture and/or offer in the market of goods and services for direct or indirect financial gain. Examples of commercial use of the Olympic Properties could be using the Olympic rings for: manufacturing a new line of clothing, offering a trip to the Olympic Games or commercialising merchandising items such as pins, diaries or souvenirs.

What is promotional use? Promotional use means using the Olympic Properties for advertising in the market of the services, goods or activities offered by an entity, regardless of whether there is a financial gain; creating an association with the Olympic Games; or capitalising on their popularity. Examples of promotional use of Olympic Properties could be using the Olympic rings to broadcast or promote an event for fundraising for charitable purposes, special offers in connection with the sale of products or advertising a publication or initiative.

Can I use the Olympic Properties for commercial or promotional purposes?

This is not possible.

Please note that use of the Olympic Properties is reserved for the IOC, the Olympic Partners (please find more information on this subject here) and the Olympic family, in connection with the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement, subject to pre-agreed terms. Official Partners have exclusive reproduction and marketing rights to the Olympic properties for commercial and promotional purposes. This is fundamental to the generation of revenue for the planning and organisation of the Olympic Games and to safeguarding the goodwill of the Olympic Movement.

Consequently, any request for use of the Olympic Properties with a directly or indirectly commercial or promotional purpose will not be approved.

Please DO NOT:

• Use the Olympic Properties for the manufacturing/packaging of any products or the branding of any services offered for sale in the market.

• Use the Olympic Properties for any form of advertising or communication, as this may suggest that there is an official IOC endorsement for your activities.

• Use, edit and/or modify the Olympic Properties for the creation of specific versions of your products such as T-shirts, food or merchandising products.

• Use the Olympic Properties for any promotional purposes, such as to promote an event (for example on flyers or other promotional material) or any products or services, since this may suggest that there is official IOC endorsement for your activities.

• Use the Olympic Properties, such as the word “Olympic” or similar terminology, for the registration of trademarks, domain names or the name of entities or events.

I’d like to be part of the official licensee programme, what should I do? If you wish to be an official licensee, please complete this form. Your application will be reviewed by our Licensing team, who will contact you.

What is educational use? Using the Olympic Properties for the preparation of materials or presentations by teachers or students for use in courses or classes without access by external people.

Can I use the Olympic Properties for educational purposes? Yes, you can use the Olympic Properties for educational purposes, but please make sure that:

• The Olympic Properties are used only in the presentations or materials to be used in the class or course. Any digitised material should be accessible only on an intranet, not freely accessible by external users.
• The Olympic Properties are not distorted or modified in any way.
• The Olympic Properties are not available for high-quality download.
• The source of the content is properly acknowledged with a copyright notice using this template: © IOC / [Name of the author, if applicable] – [Year of the work, if applicable]

Please DO NOT:

• Publish the materials externally. If you plan to do so, make sure that you comply with the “Editorial Use” conditions described below.
• Use the Olympic Properties for the manufacture of any clothing, diaries or merchandising items, even if these are to be used only in your school or academic institution.
• Use the Olympic Properties alongside your entity’s brand and/or non-Olympic partner’s brand for the promotion of your or their activities.

Please find here and here more information about educational activities and materials created by the Olympic Museum.

What is editorial use? Editorial use means use of the Olympic Properties to refer to the Olympic Games or the Olympic Movement in content whose primary purpose is to educate or inform.

Can I use the Olympic Properties for editorial purposes? Yes, the IOC approves the use of the Olympic Properties for editorial purposes if certain conditions are met. If you are a Media Organisation, please read the following guidelines available here.

In all cases, please make sure that:

• The Olympic Properties are not used to promote the authors, the publisher or any third-party goods and services.
• The Olympic Properties are not used in a way that implies that the publication or media organisation is officially endorsed by the IOC.
• The Olympic Properties are not available for high-quality download.
• The Olympic Properties are not distorted or modified in any way.
• The source of the content is properly acknowledged with a copyright notice using this template: © IOC / [Name of the author, if applicable] – [Year of the work, if applicable]

I’d like to have high-quality images of the Olympic Properties to be used in the publication. How could I obtain them? Provided the above conditions are met, we shall be happy to assist you. Please contact images@olympic.org to obtain Olympic images and footage in high-quality resolution.

Please DO NOT:

• Use the Olympic Properties in any of the promotional materials (physical or digital) for the publication.

• Use the Olympic rings or other Olympic Properties or designs that are confusingly similar (including the combination of Olympic rings colours) in a predominant manner on the cover of the publication.

What is a non-commercial entity? A non-commercial entity is an entity whose main purpose is not financial gain. Entities normally falling within this definition would be non-profit organisations, museums and academic or governmental institutions.

Can a non-commercial entity use the Olympic Properties? This depends on the nature of the use of the Olympic Properties, which must in all cases be expressly authorised by the IOC (please complete the form accordingly). Please note that, although the IOC encourages the activities carried out by non-commercial entities, any promotional use (as defined above) of the Olympic Properties is not allowed, regardless of the nature of the activity promoted and the entity behind its organisation.

However, please note that certain non-commercial entities may be part of specific programmes created in the context of the celebration of the Olympic Games (for example “Olympiade Culturelle” or “Terre de Jeux 2024” for Paris 2024), so please contact the corresponding Organising Committee for more information. If you are a cultural institution that is developing Olympism-related exhibitions, projects and events, please click here for more information.

Please DO NOT:

• Carry out fundraising activities using the Olympic Properties.

• Organise cultural, charitable or institutional events branded with Olympic Properties (such as on the website, promotional leaflets or static banners during the event), even if Olympians are participating in the event or if they are celebrated in the context of an upcoming edition of the Olympic Games. However, factual reference to the athletes and their achievements is allowed provided that this is authorised by the athlete and the concerned NOC.

• Use the Olympic Properties for artistic works which will be offered for sale.

Please do not use the Olympic Properties in connection with any symbols with a political or religious meaning. As indicated in Rule 2 of the Olympic Charter, one of the IOC’s missions is to maintain and promote its political neutrality and to preserve the autonomy of sport.

Please contact images@olympic.org regarding the use of Olympic pictures and/or footage. In every case, any use will have to comply with these guidelines and any other IOC applicable guidelines for the use of Olympic pictures and/or footage.

These words and symbols are protected by intellectual property rights owned by the IOC so, in general, you need the IOC’s authorisation before using them in the market. We suggest you review the information on our website and the various guidelines published. If, after reviewing the information, you believe that your request could fall within one of the allowed uses, please complete the following form.

Please contact your National Olympic Committee for any request related to their intellectual property rights (such as their emblem). You can find more information on the contact details of the NOCs here.

The IOC and IPC actively collaborate in the framework of a long-term partnership agreement. This means that the IOC may license certain Paralympic properties (such as the Agitos logo or Paralympic denominations) for commercial purposes. If you wish to make a formal licensee request, please complete this form.

For other uses of creations associated with the Paralympic Games, please visit www.paralympic.org.

For information about the use of the various creations (such as emblems, mascots or pictograms) of the upcoming Games in their territories, please contact the corresponding Organising Committee. For the use of these creations outside the territories of the corresponding Organising Committee, please review the guidelines and complete the form published on this website.

Olympic Properties and pictures taken during the Olympic Games may be used to contextualise the content and for reference purposes within the publication. Please read the “editorial use” guidelines above for more information about the specific conditions, and contact images@olympic.org for details on how to obtain Olympic pictures and/or footage.

The IOC thanks and supports the Olympians participating in the Olympic Games, and Olympians can of course refer to their participation in the Games in a factual manner. However, the use of the Olympic Properties and related terms for commercial or promotional purposes is reserved for the IOC, Olympic Partners and the Olympic family.

The submission of similar trademarks by third parties may harm the IOC’s exclusive rights, so please note that you must not file any trademarks using the Olympic Properties (such as the word “Olympic” and other similar denominations).

Yes, subject to the approval of the IOC, Olympic properties may be used to recognise the participation of an athlete in the Olympic Games in a factual way (for example, by creating a commemorative plaque with the emblem of the corresponding Games edition). Please contact olympic.legacy@olympic.org for further details on this or other Olympic legacy requests.

Yes, you can use the Olympic Properties for editorial purposes, provided they are not associated with your school’s or third parties’ goods and services. For your reference, you can find more details on the use of the Olympic Properties for “editorial purposes” above.

We kindly ask you to refrain from using the Olympic Properties for the manufacture of any merchandising or clothing products. The IOC seeks to maintain the integrity and brand value of its intellectual property to preserve the identity of the Olympic Games and their values. For this reason, the IOC carefully chooses its commercial partners for the manufacture of any goods using the Olympic Properties, considering environmental, social and ethical issues (please read the IOC Supplier Code).

Only the members of the Olympic family and the official partners, broadcasters and licensees may use the Olympic Properties for commercial purposes. If you suspect that the use of Olympic Properties by a third party may constitute an infringement of the IOC’s intellectual property rights, please complete this form and report it. Thank you.