Having sat open-mouthed watching some of his crashes in previous years, it was marvellous to see Geraint Thomas win the 2018 Tour de France. He’s hardly an unknown in the cycling world but winning the Tour is by far the biggest achievement of his career.
As expected, the newspapers are full of profiles of Thomas, all of which reflect the likeable, diligent man he seems to be. Equally predictably, various pieces speculate on how winning yellow in Paris will affect his future earnings. His contract with Team Sky is due for renewal and he can presumably look forward to a pay rise with new endorsement and other earning opportunities.
One of the ways leading sports figures capitalise on their success is through their image. The law on image rights is complex but many top sports figures make much, sometimes most, of their income through endorsements and licensing of their image. This is also very tax efficient.
Trade mark protection is a big part of this. The England player Jesse Lingard has applied to trade mark his “JL” goal celebration. The “RF” clothing line worn until recently by Roger Federer is registered as a trade mark – though interestingly owned by Nike, rather than Federer himself, who now wears Uniqlo. “CR7” is registered and owned by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Geraint Thomas’ nickname, “G”, might be trickier to protect. A difficulty with protecting short words or individual letters is the legal requirement that trade marks must be ‘distinctive’. They have to be capable of identifying from whom goods and services originate in the market. Obviously a single letter on its own in plain text will not generally be seen as distinctive but stylised logos or graphic depictions of letters can be registered as trade marks. One of the most famous trade marks in the world, the McDonald’s “Golden Arches”, is a stylised version of the letter “M”.
So, a search on “G” in the European trade mark register across all goods and services produces over 1,000 hits. Limiting this to the three classes most related to sporting items and clothing produces 247 current marks or applications. These include various marks based around the letter “G”, some of which are owned by well-known brands such as Gucci, the Gazzetta dello Sport and Renault. So, if Geraint Thomas wanted to register “G” as a trade mark, he would have to design a mark incorporating the letter “G” which was suitably distinct from those already registered – owners can object if they anticipate confusion.
He may, of course, be too laid back to bother. While established practice in football, tennis and golf, registering trade marks hasn’t really caught on in cycling yet. “Boardman”, as you might expect, is registered by the bike manufacturers. However, “Wiggo” is registered as a trade mark for various kinds of washing and kitchen appliances in Holland who presumably aren’t related to the 2012 winner. No one seems to have registered “Cav”. And “Sagan” is registered but by an Italian perfume manufacturer who seem unconnected to the Green Jersey winner and world champion.
Liam McMonagle is a specialist Intellectual Property and commercial solicitor. We are always delighted to talk without obligation about whether we might meet your needs. Call Liam on 0131 225 8705 or email lmcmonagle@thorntons-law.co.uk
