At present, the State Council is making a nationwide regulation to provide legal support for Olympic intellectual property rights following Beijing's issuance of a local regulation in November, said Wang Yefei, vice-director of the Beijing Intellectual Property Office.

"Many people are unaware that their goodwill actions of promoting the Olympic Games have actually hurt the interests of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)," he said.

The majority of the public have no idea competitors in the same business with IOC patrons are not allowed to be connected with Olympic-related intellectual property, as stated in the Olympic Charter and IOC's contract with Olympic host cities.

Infringements could violate the IOC's contracts with patrons, and, as a result, the Olympic host city will be given less funds and subsidies.

The new regulation, enforced in a couple of months, will provide stronger support for Beijing, he said.

However, he added some people do purposely use the Olympic Games to promote their products. For these miscreants, the municipal government has said it is determined to take action to stop such infringements.

This month, several municipal governmental departments - including the intellectual property office, the industrial and commercial administration bureau, the copyright bureau and the public security bureau - will join hands to hold frequent check-ups around the city.

The check-ups will focus on outdoor advertisements, commercial and public welfare advertisements publicized on radio, TV, newspapers and websites, as well as souvenirs.

Promotions, performances and other activities that relate to the Olympic Games are also included in the inspection.

"Though the law on patent rights has not ruled on public welfare ads and performances, the new regulation has made up for these uncovered fields, and protects the IOC's rights and interests," he said.

In a meeting of more than 200 people in charge of related Olympic business, the office urged them to follow the regulation and make changes to any form of infringement as soon as possible, because, once found to be violating the rules, they will be punished, he added.

According to the regulation, all unauthorized utilization of the five-ring Olympic symbol, the Olympic motto, anthem, logo and special terms - such as Olympic, Olympics, Olympiad, Olympic Games, Beijing 2008 and their respective Chinese terms - are not allowed.

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Organizing Committee has also set up a legal affairs department, said to be "unprecedented, underlining a new high our legal awareness has reached," according to Liu Yan, a senior official of the department.

"The establishment of the legal department is the first ever in the history of Chinese sports."

The department will deal with related legal matters and help protect the IOC's interests.

China has issued a series of laws on intellectual property protection, including the Patent Law, the Trademark Law and the Copyright Law.

( January 14, 2002)