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Lionel Messi wins nine-year trademark battle against Spanish bike brand Massi

Barcelona star can now use his surname for sports products

Lionel Messi has won a nine-year legal battle to register his surname as a trademark after the European Court of Justice dismissed an appeal made by the EU's intellectual property office, EUIPO, and Spanish bike brand, Massi, who argued it could lead to customer confusion.

Six-time Ballon d’Or winner, Messi – who has played for Barcelona his entire professional career – first sought to register his name as a trademark in 2011, only for Massi to lodge an objection.

The firm argued that the footballer’s branding was too similar to its own as he sought to trademark it for sports goods and apparel.

The EUIPO agreed with Massi, saying that the branding, “consisting of the terms 'Massi' and 'Messi', are almost identical visually and phonetically."

However, in 2018, the General Court of the European Union ruled that Messi’s fame was such that there could be no confusion between the two in the mind of the average consumer. It said that Messi’s fame, “counteracts the visual and phonetic similarities.”

Barcelona star Lionel Messi nets gift of Team Sky Pinarello

The BBC reports that the European Court of Justice has this week dismissed Massi’s appeal, agreeing that the footballer’s reputation could be taken into account when weighing up whether the public would be able to tell the difference between the two brands.

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6 comments

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RoubaixCube | 3 years ago
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So. Im guessing Messi will now be going around suing random busineses with 'Messi' or 'Massi' in their names because its now a trademark?

Idiot judge.

On the plus side Massi could just sell their wares outside of the EU. EU law doesnt apply outside the EU. They can keep trading under the name Massi.

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Nick T | 3 years ago
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I think Masi Bicycles should now take Massi to court and complete the circle 

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Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
1 like

Since I'd never heard of Massi bikes before this article maybe they should be thanking Messi for the Streisand effect they were able to generate?

I would agree with the court - there would be many people who aren't particularly interested in sport who would have heard of Messi. Therefore in general his brand is bigger.

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markieteeee replied to Secret_squirrel | 3 years ago
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Messi should also be thanking them, so should the Spanish public.  At the time of the initial dispute he was still squirreling away money from his image rights in bank accounts in Uruguay, Belize and elsewhere to avoid paying taxes in recession hit Spain. Now he can start his brand, paying his tax with less risk of him doing time. 

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Jetmans Dad | 3 years ago
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I am going to stick my neck out and say it seems unlikely that Lionel Messi will be releasing a series of bikes with his name on, but you never know ...

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RobD | 3 years ago
2 likes

From the headline I thought he'd tried to sue them over their name, this is far less shocking.

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