We recently reported on concerns that the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic Games has regarding ambush marketing.  Ambush marketing occurs when persons who are not properly licensed, market their wares and services in a manner which suggests a connection with the Games, often resulting in trade-mark infringement of protected Olympic marks.

Now it appears the that London Organizing Committee for the 2012 Olympic Games may face the opposite problem. The official emblem for the 2012 Olympics, which is a coloured jagged design based on the date 2012, was unveiled on Monday. However, animated footage promoting the brand launch had to be quickly removed from the organizers’ website amid fears it could trigger epileptic fits. The particular footage showed a diver diving into a pool which had a multi-colour ripple effect. The emblem itself, which cost £400,000, is also attracting the wrong kind of attention. Only two days after its launch, nearly 50,000 people had signed an on-line petition to have the logo scrapped, describing it as “ridiculous” and “an embarrassment to London”. The UK Daily Mail newspaper called it “the work of a painting chimp”.

There was controversy when the symbol for the Vancouver Games was first introduced, but that was mild in comparision.