UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Jamie Singer and Flora Peel, Onside Law
• Ilona Maher building a significant social media presence, surpassing two million fol - lowers on both Instagram and TikTok whilst endorsing brands such as Secret deodorant; a recent move by Maher to the PWR also saw a record-breaking attendance at Bris - tol Bears’ next match, demonstrating how beneficial these players can be for clubs and sports as a whole; and • Jude Bellingham with his image rights com - pany Bello & Bello Ltd, benefitting from endorsement deals with super-brands such as Louis Vuitton and Adidas. Player brands are increasingly taking centre stage in the sports world as athletes are real - ising how lucrative these deals can be. Addi - tionally, especially in the women’s sport sphere, an increase in following of individual brands is having profound broader impacts for the sport as a whole. It is clear this will become of great importance to athletes and brands alike as they will seek to negotiate contractual terms that ben - efit both parties. 5. Intellectual Property, Data and Data Protection 5.1 Trade Marks Registering a Trade Mark To register a UK trade mark, an application should be filed with the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO), in compliance with the require - ments set out in the Trade Marks Act 1994 (TMA 1994). An applicant can apply for: • a word mark; • a logo; • a combination of the above; • a trade mark series (up to six similar marks in a single application); or
• more unusual marks, such as a hologram, colour, sound or pattern. UK trade marks can be filed in up to 34 goods classes and 11 service classes (using the inter - nationally recognised Nice Classification sys - tem). Athletes have been seen registering trade marks in their personal brands. An interesting example was seen recently with Cole Palmer filing a trade mark application for the words “COLD PALMER” and the motion of his “shivering” celebration. Refusal A trade mark application can be refused by the UK IPO on the basis of a statutory “absolute ground” (such as the mark exclusively desig - nating the geographical origin of the goods/ services). The UKIPO refused to allow Liverpool FC to register “Liverpool” for a wide range of classes, denying it the right to have exclusive rights to the name due to its “geographical significance” as a city. Interestingly, this contrasts with an ear - lier UK IPO decision to permit the registration of the club’s trade mark application for the well- recognised Liverpool city emblem – the “liver bird” . Here, it was found that, despite the city’s widespread use of the emblem, its incorporation within the club’s logo meant that the overall mark was distinctive and registrable. A third party can oppose an application on the basis of both absolute and “relative grounds” (eg, where a mark is identical and/or similar to an existing registration and there exists a likeli - hood of public confusion). On 1 October 2021, the Sentencing Council published a definitive guideline that sentencers
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