A. On March 24, 2020, after consulting with the International Olympic Committee (“IOC”), the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games ("Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee") announced the postponement of the 32nd Olympic Games and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games ("Tokyo Olympics") due to the spread of COVID-19.

On April 16, 2020, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee announced that a joint steering committee, led by Mr. Coates, the chairperson of the Coordination Commission for the Tokyo Olympics of the IOC, and Mr. Mori, the president of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee will supervise the process of hosting the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021.

One of the main legal impacts of the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics will be the handling, consultation, and coordination of contracts entered into by related parties.

The Tokyo Olympics is a major sports event. Various entities, including the IOC, the National Olympic Committees ("NOC"; including the Japanese Olympic Committee), the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the International Sports Federations ("IF"), the National Sports Federations ("NF"), the national government agencies, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, as well as sponsors, supplier vendors, advertising agencies, media (broadcasting stations, etc.), insurance companies, travel agencies (agencies, hotels, airlines, etc.), athletes, spectators, and many other parties inside and outside of Japan who are directly or indirectly involved in the Tokyo Olympics, entered into and performed numerous agreements related to the Olympics, including the Host City Contract, sponsorship agreements, licensing agreements, broadcasting rights agreements, ticket contracts and rules and regulations relating to tickets, advertisement agreements, insurance agreements, travel contracts, purchase and sales agreements, outsourcing agreements, service contracts, and other various agreements ("Olympics Related Agreements").

Olympics Related Agreements range from general contracts to specific contracts based on the special characteristics of the Olympics.

For example, the Host City Contract 2020 and the Terms and Conditions of Ticket Purchase and Use, which are specific to the Tokyo Olympics, have been publicly available.

Prior to 1948, the Olympic Games were postponed or cancelled five times due to world war. Since 1948, the Games have not been cancelled or postponed. Thus, Olympics Related Agreement would not necessarily be expected to include a specific provision regarding the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics.

Therefore, discussions between the contracting parties based on the interpretation of the relevant agreements as well as applicable laws and regulations will be essential to determine whether the agreements between them will survive for the postponed Tokyo Olympics or will be terminated due to the postponement or for other reasons.

If an agreement survives, the parties will be expected to discuss a wide range of issues as necessary, including whether and how to amend the parties’ obligations to be fulfilled in accordance with the agreement, the allocation and payment of expenses that have been incurred and/or will be incurred in connection with the postponement, and the sharing of risk for any further postponement of the Tokyo Olympics.

However, if the parties decide to terminate an agreement, a wide range of matters will need to be discussed, depending on the circumstances, including exemption from the responsibility for default, termination of the agreements or claims for compensation for damages on the grounds of force majeure (i.e., the spread of COVID-19 and subsequent postponement of the Tokyo Olympics), the allocation of expenses that have been or will be incurred, and the possibility of collection of insurance.

In addition, due to the postponement of the Olympic Games, it will be necessary to execute contracts with new business entities and to coordinate with parties regarding matters that were scheduled to be conducted after the Tokyo Olympics (e.g., the utilization of athlete village sites and the organization of events at athletic facilities).

In the course of these discussions and coordination, there is a risk that disputes may be triggered by, among other things, unilateral termination of agreements, claims for compensation for damages, changes in related business entities, bankruptcies or insolvencies of related business entities, and selection of athletes. Therefore, it is also important to consider how to prevent disputes based on the unexpected postponement of the Tokyo Olympics.

In order to smoothly carry out the postponed Tokyo Olympics, contracting parties should address various issues related to agreements and other matters, and should take other measures to address the postponement. If you are a party or a related party to a transaction that could be affected by the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, your starting point will be to review the relevant agreements and other documents relating to the transaction, and consider the legal impacts caused by the postponement and the actions that should be taken to address those impacts.

A. On March 25, 2020, the IOC and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee announced that the name, "Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 (TOKYO 2020),” would be retained for the postponed Tokyo Olympics.
Therefore, the trademarks that may be used by the related business entities in accordance with sponsor contracts and other similar agreements will be basically limited to the same trademarks that were available prior to the postponement.
A variety of trademarks, including the name of the Tokyo Olympics (“TOKYO 2020”), have been registered by the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee or the JOC, and further measures are being taken in order to protect those trademarks. For example, several entities, including the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, have applied for the trademark, "TOKYO 2021," which evokes the postponed Tokyo Olympics.

Further, entities that produce advertisements, etc., relating to the Olympic Games must take care that those advertisements do not constitute ambush marketing or violate relevant laws and regulations, including the Trademark Act, the Unfair Competition Prevention Act and the Copyright Act.

Ambush marketing generally includes promotional activities performed by an entity that has not executed a sponsorship agreement for a certain event, such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games, through the use of logos, etc. of the event without authorization or through taking advantage of the marketing opportunities in and around the venue. The main purpose of an event organizer in regulating ambush marketing is to protect the exclusive rights (such as sponsorship or licensing) of the sponsors or other entities regarding the use of intellectual property rights in relation to the event, and thus to protect the business model of the event relating to sponsorship proceeds and other income.

The laws and regulations in Japan do not directly define or regulate ambush marketing, but the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee promulgated guidelines that state, in relevant part, "Regardless of whether or not the act was carried out intentionally, ambush marketing refers to the use of intellectual property associated with the Olympic and Paralympic Games or the misappropriation of images associated with the Olympic and Paralympic Games by organizations or individuals, without authorization from the IOC, IPC, and the organising committee, which are the rights holders of this intellectual property” (Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee "Brand Protection Guidelines Version 5.0 February 2020"). The Brand Protection Guidelines have not yet been revised following the postponement decision, but may be updated in the future.