How-to: Legal information on the Olympic & Paralympic Games and UEFA EURO 2024

Major sporting events are the perfect occasion for your designs. Read more to find out what you need to bear in mind in terms of trademark law.

Let’s get sporty: The European Football Championship in Germany (14th June to 14th July) as well as the Olympic Games (26th July to 11th August) and the Paralympic Games in France (28th August to 8th September 2024) are just a few weeks away. Fans around the world are already on the lookout for casual outfits and cool accessories to match the games – the perfect moment for your designs and you. But be careful: numerous terms, figurative marks and word/figurative marks are legally protected.

You already know how important it is to protect intellectual property. That’s why designs and brand content must not be copied without authorisation. Also, the rights holders have invested a lot of money in the development of their brands.

But it can also be expensive for you if you offer protected designs or incorporate them into your own designs. Private individuals are not safe from warnings and can be faced with high fines or even prison sentences of up to 3 years.

Below you will find a selection of protected trademarks and terms relating to the three major sporting events. In particular – but not exclusively – you should avoid using these terms in the design itself, in the name, in the keywords or in the description.

Avoid using these terms in:

Avoid using these logos:

1. Olympic & Paralympic Games

2. UEFA EURO 2024

More information on the topic of trademark law

Please note that the above list is only an example and that the official images should not be edited. If you want to check which trademarks are legally protected, you can find more information at these trademark offices:

German Patent and Trade Mark Office

European Union Intellectual Property Office

However, it is not only the official UEFA and Olympic/Paralympic logos, mascots and terms that are prohibited. You should also be careful with partners, sponsors and other brands associated with the sporting events.

The sponsors and partners of UEFA EURO 2024 include Adidas, Alipay, Booking.com, Coca-Cola, Hisense and Vivo, Bitburger, Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Telekom, ERGO and Wiesenhof, and more. You can find all partners here.

You can find out more about the sponsors and partners of the 2024 Olympic Games & Paralympics here.

We wish you lots of fun with creating legally secure designs! And of course we are happy to answer your questions in the comments or in the forum.