Domain names of Jamaican gold medal Olympians are being pedalled on the Internet and the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office JIPO - the government copyright body - is moving to block these sales.

The athletes include Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Veronica Campbell-Brown. Bolt's domain currently has a US$511 bid after nine persons bid since last Sunday. The starting price was US$120. Normally registering a website name or domain doesn't cost over US$10, but companies know that they can profit from selling famous names of athletes and stars.

The same company is also reselling Asafa Powell's domain.
It is currently accepting bids, having received "337 unique visitors". Both sites are run by a US-based company which also resells hundreds of other domains. At the same time a rival is selling Veronica Campbell's domain. All three sites are virtually blank except for a few links. JIPO said that the operators of the sites do not appear to be the legitimate copyright holder. But first JIPO will address Usain Bolt's infringement as bidding has begun.

"The Jamaica Intellectual Property Office is proactively pursuing this matter to ensure that Usain's interest is protected," said JIPO executive director Carol Simpson. "We will be contacting his legal team."

She added that athletes' rights are secured globally. "Usain is a protected trademark and we would discourage anyone trying to infringe on his intellectual property rights. If these sites are not rightfully associated with the holders of Usain's copyright then someone has taken an unfair advantage and exploited his domain name. The United Nations World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the UN Specialised Agency Arbitration and Mediation Centre would allow for action to be filed by the copyright holder against an infringing party."

This week, the Olympic watchdog body issued a communiqué warning of conditionalities for using images of the athletes and the Olympic logo.

"The images and names of athletes cannot be used without permission. And so T-shirts and posters of these athletes without obtaining their permission is not allowed," she added that more Jamaican athletes are coming to JIPO to register and protect their rights.

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