Conor McGregor’s IP fights

The well-known MMA fighter Conor McGregor fights not only on the boxing ring but on the IP scene too.

The fighter has been trying to register various marks around the world for years but has met oppositions in different jurisdictions. An example for this is his attempt to register EU trademarks for Conor McGregor, The Notorious, Notorious, I Am Boxing, ChampChamp, Mystic Mac.

On the other hand, he fights against any attempt for registration of similar marks by third parties. This is the situation with the UK trademark applications, which include Conor McGregor and Notorious, filed by  Gazala Khan as an individual.

The McGregor’s wish to possess such trademarks is not strange. This is part of his merchandising strategy to license these names to be used for different products and services. This by itself could be quite a profitable approach for every famous sportsman.

The onliest problem in that regard is the fact that this requires an adequate intellectual property strategy, built in advance, which to cover all steps in order the necessary protection to be achieved successfully. One of the set requirement in that light is a trademark clearing to be done as early as possible. The other important moment is that applications for trademarks have to be filed earlier in the sportsman carrier in order bad faith applications by third parties to be prevented.

Source:  Claire Jones, Novagraaf.

 

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Usain Bolt’s trademarks

The legendary Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has put an end of its professional career recently but this doesn’t mean that the merchandising business regarding his persona has ended too.

As many other well-known sportsmen such as Michael Jorden, for example, Bolt will continue to use its name for different merchandising and endorsement campaigns.

One of the reasons behind this conclusion is not only the Bolt’s celebrity status but the existence of many registered trademarks for his name. A quick check in the TM View database shows the following results:

Cristiano Ronaldo with tax problems in Spain

The Spanish Tax Office has started an investigation against Cristiano Ronaldo for tax evasion regarding  €14.7 million in revenue received by the footballer between 2011 and 2014.

According to the allegation, Ronaldo used an offshore company to “create a screen in order to hide his total income from Spain’s tax office”.

In the case at hand, this income was from different merchandising and advertisement campaigns which were using the image and reputation of the footballer. The licensing of such rights can be really profitable. The practice shows that some sportsmen earn more money based on such activities than from their professional career.

Source: WIPR.