Arsenal win landmark decision over club logo

ARSENAL Football Club has won its battle to stop a street trader selling pirated goods with the club’s logo in a landmark decision by the European Court of Justice.

The ruling means the football club’s name, emblem, motto and any other title associated with it cannot be used without the club’s permission. The court said owners must be able to stop others using their trademarks and it is expected to put hundreds of street traders out of business.

However, the man at the centre of the decision, street trader Matthew Reed who mortgaged his house to fight the court battle, said it will not stop him.

He has been selling his wares outside Arsenal grounds for over 30 years advertising them as badges of allegiance, but the club said he was passing them off as the real thing.

A defiant Mr Reed said yesterday he will continue to sell his shirts and scarves outside the Highbury stadium and added he is consulting his lawyers about his next move.

Arsenal first took the case in 1993 but lost it in the English courts. Yesterday’s ruling overturns that decision. Mr Reed had a sign on his stalls saying that his goods were not official Arsenal merchandise.

But the European Court in Luxembourg ruled this did not protect him. The ruling was that trademark owners “must be able to prevent its use by a third party if that use is liable to affect the guarantee of origin of the goods.

“The notice on Mr Reed’s stall stating that the goods are not official products does not guarantee that there is no confusion. Some consumers may interpret them as original Arsenal FC club products.

“The essential function of a trademark is to guarantee to consumers the real origin of goods or services by enabling them to distinguish them, without any possibility of confusion, from those of different origins.”

A spokesperson for the European Commission welcomed the court ruling saying it gave consumers the reassurance that they were buying the real thing and at the same time protected the interests of businesses who invested in their products.

Arsenal earns about €7m a year from merchandising. The biggest earner is Manchester United who net up to €50m a year while Liverpool make about €18m.