Are you a Mets or a Yankees fan? Depending on which New York Major League Baseball team you supported over this weekend’s Subway Series, your official supporter cap will sport either the intersecting ‘N’ and ‘Y’ letters in complete overlap (Yankees) or with the ‘Y’ hanging from the middle of the ‘N’ (Mets) in either the Yankee’s signature navy/white or the Met’s orange/navy.
To the uninitiated a small difference, but to the loyal fans of each team, a world of difference. Wearing your team’s colours, both at the game or on the street, is a popular way to signal your affiliation and your support.
The case for trademarks
Why do teams, businesses or even individuals trademark their signature designs? The simple answer is to try and protect them from being copied and to ensure that the use of such designs is preserved for their own purposes. Often, the bigger the organisation, sports club or musical band, the greater the variety of designs associated with them.
Logos are valuable intellectual property and enable businesses, sports organisations, organisations, musical bands and all sorts of commercial entities to present themselves in a unique way and to identify themselves and perhaps benefit from exploitation of merchandise using the logos, charging a fee or royalty for the use of the same.
Trademarks in music and popular culture
In music, the iconic Rolling Stones tongue and lips logo was specifically designed for the band by an English art designer, John Pasche, in or around 1970 and it has stood the test of time. It is a globally recognised symbol which has apparently appeared on every Rolling Stones album since its creation.
The original artwork is held in the Victoria & Albert Museum’s collection and is the subject of trademark protection. According to the V&A, Mick Jagger commissioned the artwork after seeing the designer’s final degree show at the Royal College of Art. The fee paid on the commission was apparently just £50.
In 2023, a dispute arose with a North Carolina-based retailer, wholesaler and manufacturer of merchandise. “Simply Southern” instituted court action in the North Carolina District court, seeking a declaration that images on its products were clearly and demonstrably different from the trademark protected imagery, claiming that cease and desist letters received from Universal Music’s merchandising business-“Bravado” were unjustified.
Disputed trademarks
Bravado had asserted that designs of cartoonish disembodied tongues and lips used on Simply Southern garments constituted infringement of the protected marks. A court filing in March 2023 indicated that the dispute had been referred to mediation and therefore regrettably there is no case law precedent on the enforceability of the trademark in that particular case.
Closer to home, why did Arsenal change their logo from the Victoria Concordia Crescit (“VCC”) crest first used in 1949 to the current club crest introduced in 2002? The VCC crest was dominated by a westward or left facing canon and also featured the London Borough of Islington’s coat of arms and ermine. It was trademarked in 1989.
The “new” crest has a simplified canon design facing eastward, or to the right and it is a much simpler and straightforward logo, but with specific colours being incorporated to the design as an element in the mark. A registered trademark since 2003.
Why the change? The official story and reasons can be found here but perhaps there was also a commercial reason for it, to crack down on bootleggers and start a fresh with maximum protection for the new logo.
Commercial sports organisations and creative artists of all kinds are increasingly diversifying their revenue streams through merchandise, limited editions etc. Having a new or fresh trademarked logo and distinctive visual identity is more important than ever and may even form the basis of significant future revenues.
The information contained in this article is general guidance only. The application and impact of laws can vary widely depending on the specific facts involved. The information in this article is provided with the understanding that the authors and presenters are not giving legal, tax, or other professional advice and services. As such, it should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional legal, tax or other competent advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a Child & Child professional.
