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View Full Version : can someone clear something up for me?H


guarddog14
10-10-2012, 07:57 PM
Hi all ,

i understand that you carnt use a logo of a club but for example, 'manchester united' could i just have a red jacket with the word 'united' on the front ?
or is this not allowed?

thanks , dan
gorgall2
10-10-2012, 09:13 PM
Pretty sure the answer is no as "Manchester United" is copyrighted.
mrs maggot
10-10-2012, 09:23 PM
you may get away with words from a terrace song perhaps ??? as they are only chants and as long as they do not have the clubs words in them i would think that would pass
guarddog14
10-10-2012, 09:44 PM
yeh i was just guna put the club and date formed so it would look like

UNITED
1878

OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES
socialgiraffe
10-10-2012, 10:00 PM
UNITED 1878 would be fine. So would MUFC as they can not copyright letters. I even think MAN U would be touchy ground for them.
Andrew
11-10-2012, 07:37 AM
UNITED 1878 would be fine. So would MUFC as they can not copyright letters. I even think MAN U would be touchy ground for them.

MUFC would be a big no as far as what I know. That would be worse than Man U as it is official. I know Cardiff City FC cannot use CCFC as Coventry have that copyrighted even though it is the initials of both clubs.

Anyyhing that is seen as passing off as official merchandise will get you pulled...... It is a minefield.
socialgiraffe
11-10-2012, 09:05 AM
I bow to your superior knowledge Andrew as I was always of the opinion that letters could not be copyrighted.
JMugs
11-10-2012, 10:33 AM
I bow to your superior knowledge Andrew as I was always of the opinion that letters could not be copyrighted.

As I understand you are correct BUT they do not copyright the letters, they copy right the image it just happens to look like letters, therefore any image you reproduce with those letters could land you in a mess. Any business name is just a series of letters, the image they produce is the key point. Hence you can use the letters......... if you jumble them up! Now even my simple Westcountry Brain see's a flaw there! I might struggle to sell mugs with FMCU, or KCOE.
Andrew
11-10-2012, 10:45 AM
WWF was one of the major cases on this. The wrestling logo bared no similarity to the Wildlife logo yet the wrestling could no longer use WWF.

If you use MUFC in any style or font to make it look different to the official club version you will still get pulled. I don't know the exact legal stance or wordings but take JLS or F1 for example, if you change the look of it so it looks nothing like the official logos then you can still get caught for passing off. It's a complex world and takes a lot of money to throw at to prove a case even if you believe you are in the right.