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HONG KONG, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Spectators as well as competitors need to play by the Olympic rules on brand protection and advertising during the Olympic equestrian events in Hong Kong, a senior Hong Kong official said Saturday.

Speaking at a press briefing here, Stephen Selby, director of Intellectual Property of Hong Kong government, said there was a dress code for spectators as well as competitors at every Olympic event.

He noted the Olympic Games rules prohibited advertising inside the spectator areas at Olympic venues, adding that not even official sponsors were allowed to advertise inside the spectator areas.

He said no form of advertising or other publicity was allowed in and above the stadia, venues and other competition areas that were also considered part of the Olympic sites. Commercial installations and advertising signs are not allowed in the stadia, venues or other sports grounds.

Selby appealed to the public to follow the dress code and co- operate with staff at the equestrian events venues.

"If spectators are wearing clothes or carrying accessories with large or obvious advertising messages on them, they can be required to remove them or cover them up," he said. But normal brand names on clothing would not be a problem, he added.

He also appealed to the public not to be tempted to accept commercial promotional items that might be given away for free near Olympic event venues.

"In previous Olympic events, there was a situation where blocks of spectators carried similar branded items that had been handed out for free by certain advertisers. We want to avoid that in HongKong because it falls foul of the rules laid down by the Olympic authorities," he added.