Raid on outlets selling goods with Games logo

Following the Delhi High Court order that allowed the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (OC) to check traders who are illegally selling various products carrying the Games logo, the legal wing of the committee on Friday raided four apparel outlets at Janpath, Defence Colony and Karol Bagh and seized merchandise. The outlets were selling the merchandise carrying the official emblem and logos of the CWG without permission of the committee.

Denying intentional violation of the Copyright Act, the owner of a Janpath shop said they had printed this logo on various products to create awareness about the Games among the people. “When we found many youths demanding T-shirts with the Games emblem, we went ahead with the printing,” he added.

The OC team plans to make money by selling merchandise like T-shirts, towels, bags and caps and use it to repay its loans, mostly to the government. The OC has already released many advertisements about protection of Games emblem and is now considering the use of electronic means to spread awareness about their illegal use.

The violations are serious and we have been noticing it for some time. We finally decided to crack down and got a court order,” a Games official said.

The committee has also issued notices to 40 violators of intellectual property rights, including website owners, merchandisers, licensing, travel agencies and shopowners. These have been allegedly using the Games emblem and images of official mascot ‘Shera’ without any permission.