Chelsea have recently registered a trademark for clothing (class 25) in their name in order to reduce the amount of unofficial merchandise being sold.
Street traders who have been selling their Chelsea branded wares on matchdays for years have been informed that they will not be allowed to sell their Chelsea branded goods past the third home match of the season.
The local trading standards department told The Daily Mail that after this date traders will only be allowed to sell goods that do not feature the name ‘Chelsea’ unless they have been granted permission to use it by the trademark owners.
Amongst the 79 trademarks that Chelsea FC own, in 2005 they also registered the name of their then manager Jose Mourinho. The trademark for his name, which is in categories including clothing, toiletries and jewellery, prevents his new club, Manchester United, from launching a merchandise brand in his name. If United did try to launch a brand in their new manager’s name in these categories, they would be infringing on Chelsea’s earlier trademark and it could lead to a costly lawsuit.
The best way to protect your company’s reputation, brand value and profits in today’s global marketplace is by registering a trademark and gaining trademark enforcement rights. However, just having the trademark is not enough, you would also need to police your market for potential infringements and then be prepared to act on them when they do arise.
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