USOC Seeking To Curb Use of “Olympic” In Guidebook Promotion

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Jason Bausher, author of “Best of the Olympic Peninsula,” a guidebook about the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state, is “refusing to sign legal documents sent by the [USOC] restricting his use of the word ‘Olympic’ in promoting his book and guide business,” according to Randy Boswell of the OTTAWA CITIZEN.  The USOC in letters to Bausher has said that it “won’t stop him from using the name because there are specific exemptions in Olympic trademark rules recognizing the historic use of the word in the northwest corner of Washington.”  But the USOC has “insisted [Bausher] sign a legal waiver imposing several restrictions on his use of the word Olympic, including abandonment of his application to trademark, Best of the Olympic Peninsula.”  The USOC has also “insisted that [Bausher] place prominent disclaimers on printed and web-based marketing material, avoid the use of well-known Olympic Games symbols such as torches and interlocking rings, and to limit substantial sales and promotion of his business to within Washington ‘west of the Cascade Mountain range’” (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 6/15).