In a long trademark battle of Messi vs Massi in the European court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has now confirmed that Lionel Messi can use his own name for sporting goods.

Messi filed for trademark application with the European Union Office for Intellectual Property (EUIPO) in August 2011, he was immediately challenged by a well-known Spanish cycling brand, MASSI. The company claimed a trademark under ‘Messi’ was too similar to their trademark and would cause confusion surrounding their brand.

ECJ later confirmed that there is no likelihood of confusion between the two trademarks due to the high degree of recognition of Messi. While the reputation of the earlier mark was undoubtedly a relevant factor for the assessment of the likelihood of confusion, the ECJ explained that the applicant’s possible reputation also had to be taken into account. The reputation of world footballer Messi precludes a likelihood of confusion between Messi and Massi.

 source from: https://legal-patent.com/…/messi-vs-massi-ecj-no…/