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From Times Staff and Wire Reports

Spain to Aid Nike in Olympic Trademark Dispute: The Spanish government has vowed to help Nike Inc. in a trademark feud that’s threatening to make a shambles of the company’s multimillion-dollar Olympic advertising campaign. In a letter this week to the European Commission, Spanish officials promised to ask a Barcelona judge to allow Nike to post bond in the case, said an official of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism. That arrangement would allow the Beaverton, Ore., company to sell and advertise its sports apparel in Spain while awaiting a final court decision in the trademark conflict. Who owns the Nike name in Spain is a matter of fierce dispute. Spanish attorney Juan Amigo owns a Nike trademark registered in 1932 by a Barcelona sock maker, and Cidesport, a former Nike distributor, has indirectly acquired marketing rights to Amigo’s trademark.

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