THAT Olympic logo!

The IPKat has been receiving loads of correspondence concerning the freshly-launched logo for the London 2012 Olympic Games (right). Most of the reaction he has heard so far has been negative. Many people think it's ugly, clunky and vulgar. However, the IPKat is singing its praises for the following reasons:

* It is highly striking and identifiable, which means that it has the capacity to do what a logo is supposed to do;

* There's a pretty good chance that something as quirky as this will be registrable for the many classes of goods and services for which trade mark registration will be needed;

* It has - quite remarkably for anything to do with the London Olympics - been delivered ahead of time and within budget;

* It will cost less to maintain than the other symbol of our times in London, the Millennium Dome, and fits more easily on to the corner of a T-shirt.

Merpel - who wouldn't be seen dead with it - reminds readers that there are plenty of designs which have since become classics but which were launched amid well-informed criticism.

What they say about the logo: comments from the BBC, Anorak (which pillories the new logo's style, left), The Spoof, Adrants, Daily Mail and DollyMix.
You've seen the logo - and now here's the movie
Dubious Olympic sports here , here and here