ACOG - Copyright - IBM

The federal Amateur Sports Act of 1978 grants the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) the exclusive rights to use the words Olympic, Olympiad and numerous other Olympic-related terms and symbols, including the five interlocking Olympic rings. The Act prohibits any use, reproduction, simulation or variation of these trademarks in the United States without the written permission of the USOC. Therefore, the sale or promotion of any products or services bearing these trademarks, without written permission, is unlawful.

Likewise, emblems, symbols and terms referring to the XXVIth Olympiad and the Centennial Olympic Games to be held in and around Atlanta in 1996 are protected trademarks of The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic games (ACOG). Any use of these items without the written consent of the USOC, ACOG or Atlanta Centennial Olympic Properties (ACOP), a joint marketing venture between USOC and ACOG, is prohibited by both federal and state law.

The USOC is one of few National Olympic Committees that does not receive financial support from its national government. In addition to protection granted by copyright and trademark laws, the Amateur Sports Act was passed by Congress and signed by the President to grant broad protection of Olympic terms, symbols and trademarks. The United States Supreme Court has upheld these rights granted to the USOC.

ACOG and the USOC use their protected trademarks, symbols and terms for fund raising purposes, providing them to official sponsors and licensees who make major investments in the Olympic Movement. Corporate sponsorship is one of two primary sources of revenue for funding the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games and the only direct source of income supporting the United States Olympic and Pan American Games teams. The USOC and ACOG have assured their official sponsors that the use of Olympic-related trademarks, symbols and terminology will be strongly protected and enforced.

The use of the words Olympic and Olympiad and numerous other Olympic-related terms and symbols, including the five interlocking Olympic rings, also is restricted outside of the United States. Direct questions and requests to the National Olympic Committee in each country.

IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.

Images are provided courtesy of Agence France-Presse and are part of its Olympic Report, which provides continuous photo and text coverage of the Atlanta Games. All images in the AFP Photo Gallery are copyright-protected and are for personal viewing purposes only. The words "For editorial use only," appear in the photo caption as a requirement of the International Olympic Photographic Pool [IOPP] and do not authorize reproduction of these images.
Allsport International Sports Agency, Official Photographers to the Worldwide Olympic Sponsor Programme 1996, are providing images from their Olympic web site, which provides photo coverage of the 1996 Games.
CBC logo Video provided courtesy of CBC: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Video provided courtesy of NBC.
Copyright ©1996 The National Broadcasting Company, All Rights Reserved.
Map ©1996 NGS Cartographic Division. Developed in association with GeoSystems Global Corp.
Rede Globo de Televisao, Brazil
Video, Copyright © 1996
Scientific-Atlanta Sneak Peek Cam images delivered to this Web Site through SCARLET the Broadband Video Network created by Scientific Atlanta for the Olympic Games.
Shockwave animations courtesy of Olympic Gold, a comprehensive multimedia CD-ROM published by S.E.A. Multimedia and distributed by Discovery Channel Multimedia.
SI Online, the online home of Worldwide Olympic sponsor Sports Illustrated, features the magazine's distinctive voice and dramatic photography. SI Online is providing selections from its comprehensive online Olympic coverage including athlete profiles, feature stories and daily reports from the Games.
SWATCH Photo Finish images provided courtesy of SWATCH.
WGST: Olympic Update Reports Atlanta's Official Olympic Information Radio Station
WXIA-TV, Atlanta’s Official Television Station for the Olympic Games, is providing select broadcast clips from their news programs, which air Monday through Friday, 5:30-5:45 a.m. and again at 6:30-6:45 a.m., as well as Saturdays between 7:30-7:45 a.m.
ZDF German TV
Video, Copyright © 1996


Pursuant to the Amateur Sports Act of 1978, 36 U.S.C.§ 380, the United States Olympic Committee has authority to control the use of Olympic-related marks, images and terminology in the United States of America. The information provided herein is provided with the permission of, and under a license from, the United States Olympic Committee.

Olympic Factoid
The Mother Nature was kind to Olympic athletes and spectators. The average high temperature during the Games was 89 degrees with an average low of 72 degrees. Highest temperature registered (20 July) - 99 degrees. Lowest high temperature registered is 79 degrees (28 July).