The Manchester City footballer’s application to trade mark his own name in Norway has been rejected. Alongside this, Haaland also made two further applications in respect of his signature and his well-known celebration, the lotus, a position he regularly performs after scoring a goal.
The latter two applications were successful, however the name application was unsuccessful on the basis that another person from Oslo, Norway had already registered the name ‘Haaland’ last year.
This is not necessarily the end of the road for Erling’s trade mark journey, as he has a number of options if he wishes to trade mark the name going forward. He could either pursue legal action against the current owner of the trade mark, pay for consent to use the name in relation to similar goods or he could buy the name form the current owner.
If the owner of this trade mark does not utilise it within five years of registration, he will lose rights to the trade mark, as per Norwegian law.
This draws a comparison with UK trade mark legislation, as it is also a requirement to utilise a registered trade mark in relation to all goods and services registered under it within the first five years of registration. If not during this time, or any uninterrupted five year period, then the mark can be revoked on the basis of non-use. This can apply to a whole registration, or just some of the goods and/or services in respect of the mark.
Please keep an eye out for any further updates on this matter on our Reading Room.
If you have a query about trade marks and are looking to get one registered, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Trademarkroom team today.
Tel: 02380 000190
E-mail: tmr@trademarkroom.com
