Mayor of London Boris Johnson is facing calls to “put pressure” on Olympic organisers to relax their brand protection policies amid concern that they are dampening public support for the games.
Terms associated with the Olympics are protected by law and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games has significant legals powers to control their use.
However there has been criticism of the scope of the protections being implemented, with reports of spoof Twitter accounts being forced to close and cafes being told to rename.
Volunteers giving up their time to help the games run smoothly have even been banned from posting pictures and videos to social media sites and blogs.
London Assembly member Andrew Boff says LOCOG is enforcing its rights “with ever increasing vigour”.
At this week’s Mayor’s Question Time session Boff will call on Johnson to “put pressure on LOCOG to relax these rules, or at least hold back on their enforcement, due to their potential to both limit the economic benefits of the Games, and severely dampen the spirits of the public who’s enthusiasm is so crucial to ensuring a successful Olympics.”
It recently emerged that LOCOG has charged the taxpayer over £220,000 for supplying tickets for victims and families of victims of the 7/7 bombings.
Mayor’s Question Time will be held at City Hall on Wednesday 13th June from 10am. Details of the meeting, including the full list of questions to the Mayor, can be found here.
