Russell Athletic loses copyright battle
Scottish sportswear firm Russell Athletic has lost a legal battle with English comedian Russell Brand, of Forgetting Sarah Marshall fame. Russell Athletic wanted to stop Russell Brand from registering his own name as a trademark, saying that customers would confuse their products with a range of merchandise being launched by the Los Angeles-based celebrity, and bearing his name.
The sportswear brand said the two names were too similar to each other, and allowing the controversial star’s products to go ahead could damage their sales in the UK.
Mr Brand, 35, applied to the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) in 2008 to register his name as a trademark on a range of products including clothing, footwear and headgear.
However, the Russell Corporation launched a legal action to prevent the move.
Both Mr Brand’s representatives and the clothing company filed evidence to the IPO, before a hearing in February 2011 found in the celebrity’s favour.
Andrew Antonio, Mr Brand’s business manager, told the hearing that his client was an “extremely well-known person” in his own right, and argued that consumers were unlikely to confuse him with the sportswear brand.
However, lawyers for the Russell Corporation claimed the trademarks were identical and said Mr Brand was not known for being associated with clothing. They also said he was less well known when he applied for the trademark in 2008.
However, hearing officer Oliver Morris found there was “no likelihood of direct confusion” between the two trademarks.
He said: “The evidence paints a fairly compelling picture that the fame of Mr Brand is more wide-reaching and he is more generally known than argued.”
The Russell Corporation was also ordered to pay £1,500 towards Mr Brand’s legal costs.
