Posted in: Games, SEGA, Video Games | Tagged: football manager, manchester united, sega, Sports Interactive

Manchester United Sues Football Manager Over Trademark Infringement

SEGA and Sports Interactive find themselves on the wrong side of Manchester United as the football club sues the game Football Manager. According to The Guardian, the issue stems from a trademark infringement, saying it has been extensively used the name throughout the game instead of using the official Manchester United crest. Instead, they have simply replaced the crest with "a simplified red and white striped logo." According to MUFC, this action "deprives the registered proprietor of its right to have the club crest licensed." However, on the other side of the coin, SEGA and Sports Interactive claim they have used this logo in their game since 1992, and have never heard a complaint from the football club about it until now. Here's a snippet from the article with some added details.

The companies have accused the club of trying to "prevent legitimate competition in the video games field by preventing parties not licensed by the claimant from using the name of the Manchester United football team within such games". At a preliminary remote hearing on Friday, Manchester United's barrister Simon Malynicz QC said "the name 'Manchester United' is one of the world's most valuable and recognised brands". He said the money clubs made from licensing their names and logos was "very significant" and "the products and services that are licensed by the claimant benefit from an association with the club's winning culture and its brand values".

Something to take note of is that according to both game companies, they have sent copies of the series to prominent members of the MUFC over the years, meaning players, coaches, staff, and even the owners have had access to the game throughout its run. It is rather suspect that a game could reference your club for nearly 30 years and never hear a word. That is, until this year, while the club is currently making no money due to games being canceled over COVID-19. So while the complaint may have some legitimacy over usage and proper branding, it also feels kind of transparent that this suit might just be over getting money out of SEGA in a period of time where they're only making money off their brand. We'll see how this plays out int he weeks and months to come.

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