Canadian Olympic Committee Tries To Trademark Lyric From National Anthem

from the now-that's-chutzpah dept

We were just talking about how the UK had granted all sorts of extraordinary trademark rights to the Olympics for the 2012 games, but the same is true in Canada. Last year, we had reported on similar special trademark rights given to the Olympics for the games in Vancouver in 2010. However, now the Canadian Olympic Committee is taking it to another level. Reader Michael_S alerts us to the news that the Olympic Committee is trying to trademark a line from the Canadian national anthem, "O, Canada." Specifically, it's applying for a trademark on "with glowing hearts," which comes from the song's lyric: "With glowing hearts we see thee rise, the true North strong and free." Even more ridiculous is the list of products that the Olympic Committee claims its trademark would cover: "laundry bleach, diesel fuel, dietary supplements, key chains, belt buckles knapsacks, bobble-head dolls, bathrobes, edible fats and beer." Is the Olympic committee planning to sell diesel fuel under the brand "with glowing hearts"?
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: canada, national anthem, olympics, trademark


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Sep 2008 @ 8:54am

    Edible fats? WTF?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 29 Sep 2008 @ 9:00am

    nothing says glowing (then exploding) hearts like edible fats

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Edible Fats & Beer, 29 Sep 2008 @ 9:12am

    Don't let your hearts glow

    And if your heart really does glow you'll be sued by the Olympic committee.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    PRMan, 29 Sep 2008 @ 9:23am

    Maybe Canadians can protest...

    Maybe Canadians can protest by singing the National Anthem this way...

    "With Olympic Trademark we see thee rise, the true North strong and free..."

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    TW Burger, 29 Sep 2008 @ 9:26am

    Nothing Strong or free here

    The Olympic Committee's attempt to trademark a line from the Canadian national anthem, is beyond dispicable. Up until now I supported the games (being a Vancouver native). Now I am too disgusted.

    I thought the point of a national anthem was too celibrate in song the freedom and security that national unity gives us. Allowing this trademark would give a corporation control of all Canadians' right to express patriotism.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Dave, 29 Sep 2008 @ 9:36am

    Let me understand this...

    They want to copyright a section of something that has been released into the public domain?

    Is that even possible?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Dan, 29 Sep 2008 @ 9:47am

      Re: Let me understand this...

      Trademark is different than copyright

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Killer_Tofu (profile), 29 Sep 2008 @ 9:47am

      Re: Let me understand this...

      Not really.
      They want to trademark it, not copyright.
      So yes, it technically is possible.
      However, incredily stupid.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Vincent Clement, 29 Sep 2008 @ 10:36am

    Hmmmmm

    laundry bleach, diesel fuel, dietary supplements, key chains, belt buckles knapsacks, bobble-head dolls, bathrobes, edible fats and beer

    Looks like the sponsors are being taken care off. Somewhere in the mix is a sporting event.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Chris, 29 Sep 2008 @ 11:11am

    Soooo......

    ET is no longer welcome in Canada? Will the movie have to pulled?? Elliottt!!!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    MBraedley (profile), 29 Sep 2008 @ 11:41am

    This isn't all

    Not only are they trying trademark some of the English lyrics, but also a line in the French lyrics, whose rough translation is something like "the more brilliant deeds" (the literal translation uses exploits). As a Canadian, I am not at all happy that my national anthem is being trademarked, even for the Olympics.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Jim, 29 Sep 2008 @ 1:06pm

    My heart is no longer glowing.

    By my accounts if this is allowed I can hardly see how we could say "With glowing hearts" we are strong or free.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Hurl, 29 Sep 2008 @ 2:46pm

    I'm assuming they had to trademark with glowing hearts for the edible fat and beer sponsor since it was the only symbolic thing they could find that rhymed with blowing farts.

    Sorry, tough day, I needed 30 seconds of being 12.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Mike, 29 Sep 2008 @ 3:48pm

    This did pass, and part of the anthem is now trademarked. The official explanation from John Furlong is to "protect" people from "unauthorized" materials (ie. a coffee cup with the Olympic rings and the phrase "with glowing hearts") No, it does not make any sense to me either. This is the same John Furlong who tried shut down Olympic Pizza in 2006.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Dustin, 30 Sep 2008 @ 8:12am

    Whenever anyone asks why I refuse to watch the Olympics I just point them to stories like this. Luckily (for me) the various "Olympic" committees seem intent on making sure I never run out of fresh examples.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Carlita, 18 Feb 2009 @ 5:59pm

    Aw, what the heck...

    Let them have it. The Olympic Committee obviously need all the hard cash they can get their fists on to fund those international trips and fancy stipends, etc. We'll just sing "With noisy farts..." instead, eh?

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.