Football
Messi Wins trademark battle for MESSI
Lionel Messi has won a legal battle allowing him to trademark his iconic surname and join eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo and the CR7 brand in the global marketplace.
An EU court has ruled that the Barcelona superstar is far too famous to be confused with any other business, freeing him to sell branded sports goods around the world.
The ruling represents a blow to Spanish cycling gear manufacture Massi, who had challenged the trademark on the grounds that it is too similar to its own.
“Lionel Messi may register his trade mark ‘MESSI’ for sports equipment and clothing,” said a ruling by the Luxembourg-based General Court of the European Union.
“The football player’s fame counteracts the visual and phonetic similarities between his trade mark and the trade mark ‘MASSI’ belonging to a Spanish company.”
Thursday’s decision represents the end of a seven-year fight for Messi, with the Argentine having first applied for trademark with the EU’s intellectual property office in 2011.
Continue Reading
-
Latest1 week agoFull List: Meet the 2026 Nobel Prize winners across six categories
-
Football7 days agoPremier League Matchweek 7: Five Fixtures That Could Shape the Weekend
-
Business5 days agoDangote Refinery IPO: 70% Subscription claim meets fourfold demand assertion as investors seek clarity
-
Latest6 days agoUmahi defends Lagos-Calabar highway route changes amid public outcry
-
Business6 days ago
Dangote Refinery IPO Extension: Was the 70% subscription report overhyped?
-
Latest4 days agoUCTH faces morgue crisis as 50 unclaimed corpses await mass burial
-
Business4 days agoBREAKING: Nigeria’s Inflation Rate Drops to 14.63% in September
-
Featured6 days agoEl-Rufai, ADC governorship candidate’s court appearance puts Kaduna opposition politics in focus