The Cans and Can’ts of Media During the Olympics

The IOC, VANOC, and the City of Vancouver have enacted a number of guidelines, regulations, and bylaws which govern media coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics. These rules restrict the use of Olympic trademarks, the dissemination of media captured within Olympic venues, and some forms of expression while the Games are in Vancouver.

To help reporters cover the Vancouver Winter Games responsibly, TNMH has provided answers to some Big Questions & Scenarios and summarized the major pieces of Olympic-related legislation. We aim to define the boundaries of these laws so that reporters can vigorously cover stories without running afoul of the rules.

Although we consulted lawyers in creating this list, it should not be construed as legal advice.

If you face any kind of legal action, please consult a lawyer immediately. The BCCLA is an excellent resource, and has offered to assist any reporter who may have questions about his or her rights

Big Questions:

How may you use the Olympic Marks and Logos within the law?

In all cases, Olympic marks may only be used for the purpose of identifying a bona fide news story relating to the 2010 Winter Games (an editorial use). Olympic marks may not be used in any manner that creates a commercial association between a third party and the Olympic Movement (e.g. “Come see our Olympic-sized deals!”) Good examples of permissible and impermissible use of Olympic marks in a news story are available from VANOC here. For Canadian News Publications, more information on permissible use of the marks is available here (Print and Internet usage) and here (Television usage). For international reporters, any use of Olympic marks outside of Canada is subject to the discretion of regional National Olympic Committees.

Permitted usage of Olympic marks is also governed by the Olympic Graphic Standards Manual which outlines how the Trademarks and Emblems of the Games may be graphically depicted.

If you’d like to receive the Olympic emblems for an article you’re writing, VANOC asks that you email mediarelations@vancouver2010.com with the subject line ‘logo request.’ In the body of the email, include the following information: The name of the publication in which the article will appear; a brief description of the article; and the approximate publication date.

So, what’s the deal with photographs at the Games?

For non-accredited media and all members of the community, photographs taken within Olympic Venues are subject to the ticket license agreement, which prohibits the publication of audio, images or video captured inside a Venue. A list of all Olympic Venues is available on VANOC’s website here.

You may post photos and videos from within a Venue to Facebook & Flickr (not YouTube) so long as you do not offer them for sale. VANOC does not request that you license your photographs or video in any particular way, however you remain responsible to ensure that your media does not end up being used in a commercial context.

Accredited media members may publish photographs taken inside Olympic Venues so long as such pictures are not reproduced in a sequential manner, so as to simulate moving images. The regulations surrounding the media’s publication of photos taken inside Venues can be found in the IOC Internet Guidelines for the Written Press and other Non-Rights Holding Media.

There are no restrictions on how you display or share pictures taken outside of an Olympic venue.  However, bear in mind that athletes and trainers are governed by Rule 41 of the Olympic Charter, which prohibits the use of their images for advertising purposes during the Games. Also, no images containing an Olympic trademark may be used to suggest a commercial connection between the Olympic Movement and any third party.

If you need images for use in connection with an Olympics-related story, VANOC’s image gallery (and instructions on how to properly use those images) is available here.

How will the new Vancouver bylaws change life during the Olympics?

VANOC and the VPD have confirmed publicly that no Olympic-related law will serve to restrict free speech.  According to VPD deputy chief Steve Sweeny in the Vancouver Sun, “[A]ny public space in the city of Vancouver is an area where you can protest.” However, “you can’t engage in any criminal activity or unlawful behaviour. You can’t obstruct any other people from going about their daily business, either. If you were trying to obstruct someone from gaining access to a venue, that would be unlawful. But if you want to legally deliver a message of protest against the Games, we have no issue with that at all.”

As the bylaw is currently written, signs that do not celebrate the spirit of the Olympic Games may be confiscated in public Olympic Pedestrian Zones. Councillor Geoff Meggs has said that that interpretation of the bylaw is extreme—it is meant to combat businesses explicitly using the Olympics for profit—and it will not be used to quell free speech. However, the bylaw does expressly ban all signs—celebratory or not—that make a commercial connection between the Olympics and a non-sponsoring third party. Amendments to the bylaw are pending.

David Eby of the BCCLA advises that protestors seeking to avoid confrontation should ensure that their actions and signs don’t interfere with others’ enjoyment of a public space, don’t contain obscenity, and do not include weapons. The BCCLA and Pivot Legal Society will have trained and neutral Legal Observers stationed around Olympic venues and protest sites to document police/protestor interactions. These Observers will not be permitted to offer legal advice, however they can connect you with civil liberty lawyers.

Is a blog seen as a legitimate forum for news reporting by the IOC and VANOC?

The IOC’s blogging guide for Accredited Persons has stated that a blog is “a legitimate form of personal expression and not a form of journalism.” VANOC has also said that non-accredited persons are prohibited from publishing photos taken inside Olympic venues on blogs because they would be in violation of the ticket license agreement.

What are the major differences between accredited and non-accredited media at the Olympics?

Paragraph 3 of Bye-law to Rule 49 of the Olympic Charter states that “Only those persons accredited as media may act as journalists, reporters or in any other media capacity”. Independent bloggers, videographers, photographers or documentarians who are not accredited cannot report news from within Olympic Venues. They also fall under the constraints of the Ticket License agreement when collecting video, audio, and photographs from within these venues. There are no restrictions for non-accredited persons collecting and disseminating media content from outside Olympic Venues, other than the requirement that no proprietary mark of the Games be used to suggest a commercial connection with a third party.

What are my rights when I record police activity? Can my camera be confiscated if I accidentally capture a police action on film?

If you have a video or still camera and the police believe that your camera contains evidence of a crime, the police can seize it if:

1)   They cannot identify you for the purposes of issuing you a warrant at a later date; and

2)   You will not assure them that the contents won’t be deleted.

If you have a camera and the police want it, identify yourself, including your address, to police. Tell the police that the recordings will be preserved and will be made available to the police in the event they obtain a warrant. Be sure to provide the police with contact information. If you follow these guidelines and your camera is confiscated, be sure to get the confiscating officer’s name and badge number, and contact a Legal Observer or the BCCLA.

Some Scenarios

1) Inside the venue for the Men’s Hockey Final, I take some digital photos. Bearing in mind the contract on the back of my ticket and the terms of the ticket license agreement, how may these photos be used and shared?

The photos are records of your personal experience so they may be shared with your friends and family, but not published or used for commercial purposes.

So long as you are not commercializing the images on your accounts or offering the images for sale, you may post static images on your personal Facebook or personal Flickr accounts. The photos may be licensed under Creative Commons, but bear in mind that you may receive correspondence from the IOC should the images be used by a third party for commercial purposes.

Images collected from within Olympic venues cannot be widely published or used for commercial purposes, which means that they may not be posted to a blog or included in any kind of non-accredited news article.

2) Inside an Olympic venue, I capture some digital video. Bearing in mind the contract on the back of my ticket and the terms of the ticket license agreement, what can I do with it?

You may share the video with my family and friends, so long as the video is for your personal and private use as a record of your experience and not for public consumption. You may also post the video to a Facebook-like website where the video is for personal friends and not available to the general public.

You may not post video on Youtube or otherwise make it available to the general public (through use of torrents, etc.) You may not attempt to use the video for any sort of commercial gain.

3) Outside a venue, I take pictures of my family in front of the Olympic rings. Are there any restrictions on how I display and share those pictures?

There are no restrictions on how you display or share media captured outside of an Olympic venue.  However, you cannot use the image of the Rings, or any other IOC proprietary mark, in a manner that creates a commercial association between a third party and the Olympic Movement.

4) Are there any restrictions on how I share video or photos taken with Olympic athletes or trainers?

For non-accredited reporters, any media collected within an Olympic venue is regulated first and foremost by the terms of the ticket license agreement, meaning that no photos or video may be published or used in a commercial context.

For accredited, but non-rights holding journalists, media captured within Olympic venues is regulated by Guidelines for the Written Press and other Non-Rights Holding Media, Guidelines For Non-Rights Holding TV Broadcasters and, Guidelines For Non-Rights Holding Radio Broadcasters.

Outside a venue, there are no IOC/VANOC restrictions on use of video or photography.  However, bear in mind that athletes, trainers, and all Olympic officials are governed by Rule 41 of the Olympic Charter, which prohibits use of their images for advertising purposes during the Games window.

5) An athlete is eliminated from their area of competition. I’d like to hire them as a commentator for the duration of the Games. Is that possible?

Even if they’re not competing, a coach or athlete acting as a paid commentator would likely violate the Olympic Charter which prohibits use of their images for advertising purposes during the Games window.

If you have any additional questions about Olympic laws, regulations, or specific scenarios, we encourage you to contact VANOC at  mediarelations@vancouver2010.com/779.328.1211 or us at … A larger list of 2010 Olympic media relation contacts can be found here.

TNMH would like to extend huge thanks to David Eby at BCCLA, Graeme Menzies & Annie Belanger at VANOC, and City Councillor Geoff Meggs for their time and expertise.