London Mayor Calls For 'Light-Touch' Enforcement Of Olympic Branding Laws

London Mayor Boris Johnson warned of the "insanity" of overzealous policing of Olympic brands, according to Roger Blitz of the FINANCIAL TIMES. This comes as organizers "step up efforts" to banish the unauthorized use of words and images associated with the Games. Johnson called for the light-touch use of laws enacted to protect the rights of domestic sponsors, which contributed £720M ($1.1B) to the London organizing committee, as well as the IOC's global sponsors. It emerged this week that even the family of Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, "had been told to make minor changes" to Olympic references on the website of their business, which sells party products. Johnson said, "I think this is an area where you mustn't allow any kind of insanity. If someone's got an Olympic Café, good luck to them" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 7/20).