Olympic Committee Wants a Philly Eatery to Change Its Name - as part of the news series by GeoBeats.
The United States Olympic Committee is going after the owner of Olympic Gyro in Philadelphia, because according to a law passed in 1978, the USOC owns all copyrights to the word Olympic and the interlocking ring symbol.
The Olympic Gyro restaurant has been around for thirty years, but the USOC is just getting around to enforcing their copyright.
The owner thinks it will cost about 6 thousand dollars to change the name of his restaurant.
They have given him until 2013 to resolve the issue. Also targeted by the USOC is the knitting group Ravelry who has a knitting competition called the Ravelympics. In a letter to the group the USOC said: “We believe using the name ‘Ravelympics' for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games.”
Another unusual case of copyright infringement happened in the Hermit Kingdom of North Korea, when the appointed leader Kim Jong-Un appeared on national television with Disney characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse. A Disney Company spokesperson said: “This was not licensed or authorized by the Walt Disney Company.”
