Terms of Service

Olympic.org – Terms of Service

Welcome to the International Olympic Committee’s website!

1. WHAT IS OLYMPIC.ORG AND WHO ARE WE?

The www.olympic.org website is the official website of the International Olympic Committee (the “IOC”). It is managed and operated by the IOC and, for all aspects related to the Olympic Museum (e.g. https://www.olympic.org/museum, http://shop.olympic.org/en) or to the Olympic Studies Centre e.g. https://www.olympic.org/olympic-studies-centre; https://library.olympic.org/), it is managed and operated by the IOC in cooperation with the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage (the “Foundation”).

The mission of the IOC, according to the Olympic Charter is to promote Olympism throughout the world, to lead the Olympic Movement and to ensure the regular celebration of the Olympic Games. The Foundation was created by the IOC to promote Olympism in the areas of culture, heritage and education. The Foundation manages the Olympic Museum and the Olympic Studies Centre.

We describe as the “Services” the website, as well as the newsletters, registration systems, or other online resources including all IOC Content (as defined below) offered on the www.olympic.org and other digital properties operated by the IOC and the Foundation. When these Terms of Service refer to ‘’we’’, ‘’our’’ or “us”, it is referring to the IOC as well as, where applicable to the Foundation.

2. WHY SHOULD YOU READ THESE TERMS OF SERVICE?

These Terms of Service aim to inform you, as user of the Services, of the conditions under which you may use the Services to access, use, view and share the IOC Content (as defined below). By accessing and using the Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service.  If you do not agree with these Terms of Service, do not use the Services.

Specific rules and additional terms may apply due to the nature and purpose of certain Services. This is for instance the case of certain systems for event registration or reporting mechanisms, or professional resources managed by the IOC, or the Services related to the Olympic Museum Shop, or the Olympic Studies Centre. In such cases, these specific terms will be brought to your attention before you use the relevant Services and will prevail over these Terms of Service in case of any inconsistency.

Please note that, if you access IOC Content (as defined below) via services operated by third parties, such as social media services, additional terms issued by such third parties may also apply.

We reserve the right to modify the Terms of Service, at any time. When we make changes, we will revise the "last updated" date at the bottom of the Terms of Service and any change will be effective immediately upon posting. We will use reasonable efforts to inform you about any material changes made to these Terms of Service. However, your continued use of the Services following the posting of changes will constitute your acceptance of such changes. We encourage you to review our Terms of Service whenever you use the Services.

3. WHAT CAN YOU FIND ON THE SERVICES?

3.1 IOC Content

In these Terms of Service, “IOC Content” refers to any audiovisual or other content, information or materials accessible through the Services such as texts, illustrations, artworks, graphics, data, moving and still images, sounds, music, or software. The IOC Content is protected by copyright, trademarks, or other proprietary rights and laws. All rights, including all intellectual property rights, or other proprietary rights in the Services, IOC Content, except for Your Content (as defined below), are owned by the IOC, or licensed to us by the respective rights owners. All rights not expressly granted to you under the present Terms of Service are reserved.

IOC Content may vary depending on the geographical location, or device from which you access the Services, or whether you have created a user account.

3.2 Your Content

Through the Services, you may be offered the possibility to provide feedback and interact with other users, by making comments or by making available other types of content (“Your Content”).

You retain all ownership rights and are solely responsible for Your Content. You grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, transferable, license (with a right to sublicense) to use, reproduce, display, distribute, make available and prepare derivative works of Your Content, in whole or in part, in any media formats and through any media now known or to be known, in connection with the IOC and the promotion of the Olympic Movement. You also grant each user of the Services a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to access Your Content through the Services and to use it in accordance with the present Terms of Service. All licenses granted to us and the users of the Services in relation to Your Content shall continue indefinitely, unless you request that we remove Your Content from the Services.

4. WHO CAN USE THE SERVICES?

The Services are intended for users who are 13 years old (or older) and who are either of legal age under the laws of their country of residence or who have obtained the consent of a parent or guardian to use the Services. Users aged 13 to 15 years old, can only use the Services with the prior authorisation from a parent or guardian. 

Your use of the Services is at your risk and you are responsible for ensuring that your use of the Services complies with applicable laws of your country of residence or use.

We reserve the right to terminate your access to the Services and your user account at our discretion, in particular if we believe that you do not comply with these Terms of Service

5. HOW CAN YOU USE THE SERVICES?

We grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable and non-sub licensable, license to access and use the Services and IOC Content for informative purposes only, provided that you comply with the Terms of Service and in particular the following conditions:

a)     The Services cannot be used for advertising purposes, or in any manner implying an association between a third party, or a third party’s product and services, and the IOC, the Foundation or the Olympic Movement, without our prior written authorization.

b)     Through available functionalities, you are authorized to share IOC Content for personal and non-commercial purposes only and in a manner otherwise consistent with these Terms of Service;

c)      You may not upload or post on the Services any comment or other content that is unlawful, defamatory, violent, obscene, racist, discriminatory against any third party or otherwise contrary to the Olympic values;

d)     You may not use, or attempt to use, the Services or the IOC Content to commit any unlawful act or to defame, harass, insult or impersonate other users or third parties;

e)     Except as expressly provided in these Terms of Service, you are not authorized to copy, archive, download, reproduce, modify, broadcast, communicate to the public and/or make available, the Services or any IOC Content, without our prior written authorization;

f)       You may not transfer, assign or sublicense any rights and licenses granted to you under the Terms of Service, but our rights and obligations may be assigned by us without restriction.

g)     You may not alter or modify or circumvent any component of the Services, or attempt to do so, or encourage or assist any other person to do so;

h)     You may not launch any automated system, including without limitation, "robots," "spiders," or "offline readers," “virus”, “worms”, “Trojan horse”, having the purpose or effect to detrimentally affect the Services;

i)       You may not collect or use any personal information about other users or third parties from the Services, nor use the Services for any commercial solicitation purposes;

j)       You may not facilitate or encourage any violation of these Terms of Service by third parties.

6. HOW CAN YOU CREATE A USER ACCOUNT?

Creating a user account is generally not required to access and use the Services and IOC Content, but some features and functionalities of the Services and some IOC Content may be available only to users who having registered with us and created a user account. On certain Services the creation of a user account may be subject to additional conditions.

You can create a user account be signing-up with us through the Services. Registration requires that you provide us with information about you in order to allow us keeping in touch with you. This information will be processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

All information you provide in the registration process must be accurate and complete. You are responsible for keeping your account username and password confidential and for all activity that occurs under your account.

When you register, we will ask you to confirm that you agree with the Terms of Service, and that you have read and understood our Privacy Policy.

7. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU AND HOW DO WE USE IT?

When You access the Services and when you create a user account, we will collect certain information about you. Our Privacy Policy [link] provides more about the information we collect and how we use it.

8. WHAT ELSE SHOULD YOU KNOW?

8.1 You agree to the following:

a)     We disclaim all liability for losses and/or damages caused by any unauthorized use of your user account and it is your responsibility to immediately notify the IOC of any breach of security or unauthorized use of your user account;

b)     Despite our efforts to provide accurate information and to prevent disruption caused by technical problems, the Services may contain technical mistakes, inaccuracies or typographical errors or be temporarily unavailable to you and we cannot be held liable for such occurrences;

c)      Your use of the Services requires one or more compatible devices, internet access and certain hardware and software and may require obtaining updates or upgrades from time to time. You agree that your ability to use the Services may be affected by the performance of such materials and that such system requirements are under your responsibility as well as all costs incurred by their use including your internet or data service providers charges;

d)     The Services, including all IOC Content, is provided to you “as is” and, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we (including our officers, directors, employees, agents affiliates and subcontractors) disclaim all express or implied warranties in connection with the Services, IOC Content (including any link to any third party websites, and any offer of service or product made by third parties) and your use thereof. These disclaimed warranties include warranties of availability, fitness for a particular purpose;

e)     We reserve the right to modify, improve, update, suspend or terminate any functionality of the Services or any IOC Content, at our discretion and without notice;

f)    Except where expressly mentioned otherwise, links provided on the Service to any third party websites or services, or to offers for third party products or services, shall not be interpreted as a recommendation or endorsement by us;

g)     Although we make our best efforts to reply to any questions asked or request made to us through the Services in a timely manner, we do not guarantee any specific turnaround time, reserve the right to refrain from answering any communication which does not comply with the present Terms of Service.

8.2 - To the fullest extent admissible under law, we (including our officers, directors, employees, agents, affiliates and subcontractors) shall not be liable to you or third parties for damages of any kind arising in connection with: 

1. Your access to or use of Services and any IOC Content, or of the websites linked to the Services;
2. any unauthorized access or use of our servers and/or any personal information or other information stored therein;
3. any errors or inaccuracies in the Content;
4. any delays, interruptions, failure, poor quality or limitations of any kind in transmissions from the Services or in the delivery or in the performance of services offered via the Services; and
5. any bugs, viruses, or the likes which may be transmitted to or through the Service by any third party.

8.3 - You agree to defend, indemnify and hold the IOC and the Foundation (including their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, affiliates and subcontractors) harmless from and against any claims or damages (including legal fees) arising in connection with your violation of the present Terms of Service. This defense and indemnification will survive the present Terms of Service and your use of the Services.

8.4 - No action from our part, other than written waiver or amendment, may be construed as a waiver or amendment of these Terms of Service. If any provision of these Terms of Service is found invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of these Terms of Service shall remain valid and enforceable to the fullest possible extent under applicable law.

8.5 - The Terms of Service shall be governed and interpreted by the laws of Switzerland, without reference to conflict of laws. Any dispute arising from or in connection with the execution or interpretation of these Terms of Service or breach thereof which cannot be settled amicably, shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of Lausanne, Switzerland.

These Terms of Services were last updated on 25 May 2018