A European court outlawed the sale of bootleg soccer club merchandise Nov. 12 after a long legal battle that originally seesawed in favor of counterfeit merchants.
The European Court of Justice ruled in favor of London's Arsenal FC in its dispute with a street vendor over the use of the club's name and logo.
Vendor Matthew Reed had argued that because he never claimed that his jerseys and scarves were official club merchandise, there were no legal grounds for stopping him from selling them.
Merchandise is a key revenue stream for English clubs, which unlike their counterparts in North American leagues keep all the revenue from shirts and caps themselves. Merchandise sales account for 10 percent to 12 percent of total club revenue across the Premier League. Arsenal generates about $8 million annually.
The case was referred to the European Court of Justice from the English High Court, which shook soccer clubs and other purveyors of similar licensed products by ruling in Reed's favor in 2001.
While Arsenal contended that Reed's use of the marks infringed on its registered trademarks, Reed argued he used Arsenal's club crest and its cannon logo not as an indication of origin, but merely as badges of allegiance.
The High Court agreed with Reed that fans wanted an Arsenal scarf only to show their support rather than as a statement that the goods were from Arsenal FC.
Arsenal's consumer warnings against buying counterfeit merchandise were turned against it in the High Court. In effect, the High Court held that Reed was not passing off his goods as those of Arsenal because potential consumers were too well-informed of what was official to be confused.
Jay Stuart is editorial director of SporTVision magazine and Sports TV Report newsletter.
