How To Not Get Sued: Vancouver-Based Lululemon Has “Cool Sporting Event” Clothing Line

Written on December 18, 2009 – 5:41 pm | by Admin

Cult athletic clothing company Lululemon, whose perfectly-cut pants are worn by Pilates moms everywhere, is Vancouver-based.

They therefore are perfectly positioned to launch an Olympics-based clothing line in time for the 2010 winter games to hit the slopes of Whistler.

Except they aren’t an official sponsor, making any such clothing line lawsuit bait for the Vancouver Organizing Committee.

They introduced a winter clothing line anyway on Monday, but they definitely put some time in with their lawyers first.

The New York Times Rings blog reported that the line of sweatshirts and the like, offered in the national colors of the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Germany is called the “Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place in British Columbia Between 2009 & 2011 Edition.”

The organizing committee is not happy, but knows it cannot sue.

“They have done a lot of homework to avoid strict repercussions under the letter of the law,” Bill Cooper, the director of commercial rights management for the Vancouver Organizing Committee, said. “That’s a large part of what we find disappointing, that the only standards they held themselves to was the letter of the law.”

Whether one thinks this is offensive to the Olympic spirit (of tightly held marketing) or just good, cheeky fun, we’re pretty sure the lawyers had a good time giving their stamp of approval to this one.

Perfect Business!