An EU court has allowed Lionel Messi to register his name as a trademark.getty images
Lionel Messi "may register his name as a trademark for sports equipment and clothing," the EU’s second-highest court said, ruling he is "famous enough to overcome phonetic similarities with Spanish bicycle clothing brand Massi," according to Robert-Jan Bartunek of REUTERS. The case reached the EU General Court after the Spanish brand "successfully complained" to the EU Intellectual Property Office. The EUIPO said that Messi and Massi were "almost identical visually and phonetically and some would find it difficult to the tell the two apart, but the court disagreed." The court said on Thursday, "Mr Messi is, in fact, a well-known public figure who can be seen on television and who is regularly discussed on television or on the radio" (REUTERS, 4/26). The BBC reported the Barcelona and Argentina striker "fought a seven-year fight to be able to use his name on sports goods." The ruling comes days after France Football magazine reported Messi "had overtaken Cristiano Ronaldo as the highest earner in football," with an income of €126M ($153M) (BBC, 4/26).
