The Internet is emerging as an important new medium for the communication and promotion of sport and the Olympic Movement.
Although the IOC is willing to embrace this new medium as a platform for further disseminating coverage of the Olympic Games and for promoting the Olympic Ideals, it will restrict the usage of the Internet as a broadcast medium for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
The IOC understands media organizations have integrated this new medium in their business and will be feeding their own web sites with Olympic-themed content to target the online audience and to better serve fans during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
However, the IOC has an obligation to ensure the use of the Internet to cover the Olympic Games is in accordance with the Olympic Charter, in the best interests of the Olympic Movement as a whole, and protects the rights of its partners.
To this end, the IOC will not allow any use of the Internet during the Games that would infringe upon broadcast television or radio coverage of the Games.
Therefore, no moving images of or audio coverage
of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games will be authorized by the IOC on the Internet.
The set of guidelines below has been designed to determine how press and non-rights holders can use the Internet while respecting the rights of others.
These guidelines will apply to all non-rights holding media for the Games of the XXVII Olympiad in Sydney 2000.
The IOC will take the appropriate measures to enforce these rules and reserves the right to change this policy any time.
Written Coverage
Media organizations can use their own web sites to disseminate written coverage, for example to post articles such as those that would appear in a newspaper.
Media organizations may not create stand-alone Olympic-themed web sites to host this or any coverage. The IOC will not allow domain names including the word Olympic or Olympics, e.g. www.mediaorganizationolympics.com, to be registered by unauthorized third parties.
Photography
Media organizations may feature still pictures (photo images) on their web sites, provided such pictures are not animated by any effect or ‘rotated’ in such a way as to be sequential, for example, 10 still photographs of the 100m which flash in sequence.
No Video/No Sound
During the Olympic Games, broadcast rights-holders have exclusive rights to the broadcast of moving images (video) in their own territories. Although rights holding broadcasters have not been granted Internet rights, per se, the IOC would consider any use of moving images or audio on the Internet to be an ambush of these media broadcasters’ rights.
Therefore, no video images or sound of the Olympic Games are permitted on any media organization’s web site. This would include, but not be limited to, web cams or sequences of still photographs.
Specifically, this means no sound or moving images of any Olympic events, including sporting action, interviews with athletes in the mixed zones and press conference rooms, Opening, Closing, and medal ceremonies or other activities, such as chat sessions which occur within accredited zones (competition sites and practice venues, Olympic Village, Main Press Center, etc) may be disseminated, whether on a live or delayed basis, regardless of source.
Games Marks
Accredited press organizations and accredited non-rights holders may use Olympic symbols and/or the Sydney 2000 Games Marks associated with written coverage only as authorized by the IOC and/or SOCOG but cannot associate these marks and symbols with any commercial opportunity.
Link
To complement coverage, the IOC encourages accredited press organizations and non-rights holding broadcasters to set prominent links from their web sites to the official web site of the XXVII Olympiad (www.olympics.com), the IOC (www.olympic.org) and their respective National Olympic Committees website.
Source: International Olympic Committee