The U.S. Olympic Committee may legally bar...

The U.S. Olympic Committee may legally bar a homosexual rights group from calling an athletic festival the Gay Olympics, the Supreme Court ruled.

The court, in a 5-4 decision, said Congress has given the committee absolute control over all commercial and promotional uses of the word Olympic.

The justices said the committee may go into court and halt any unauthorized use of the word without first proving consumer confusion or harm to the Olympic movement. Most trademark owners are required to offer such proof.

A group calling itself San Francisco Arts and Athletics, Inc., organized the first Gay Olympics in 1982 and a similar event is planned for 1990. The organization was forced by court order to drop Olympic from the title after the USOC and the International Olympic Committee sued.