It is claimed that the MANCHESTER UNITED mark in the Football Manager® game impairs the ‘essential function’ of the mark, which is to guarantee the origin of the branded product to the consumer, in that gamers will mistakenly assume that the game is licensed or otherwise endorsed by Manchester United FC. Manchester United FC allege that the use of the MANCHESTER UNITED mark is an infringement of Article 9(2)(a) of the European Trade Mark Regulation (“EUTMR”) (that an identical mark has been used in relation to identical goods) and an infringement of Article 9(2)(c) EUTMR (that an identical or similar mark has been used in a manner which is detrimental to or takes unfair advantage of the trade mark’s reputation or distinctive character). This registration covers a large number of goods, including goods in Class 9 relating to video games and computer software. In these proceedings, one of Manchester United FC’s claims is that the use of the MANCHESTER UNITED club name in the Football Manager® game infringes its EU trade mark registration for the words MANCHESTER UNITED. For some clubs, Manchester United included, the actual logo has been replaced by one of 14 generic logo templates that are randomly chosen by the game engine. One omission that football fans will quickly pick up on is that Football Manager® does not always feature the logo of every football club. In the course of making their in-game football leagues as close as possible to the real-life counterparts, Football Manager® uses the actual names of clubs, football players, and even team staff members, including coaches, loan managers and physiotherapists. (Some trivia for the fans: the top goal scorer for the Philippines national side, English-born Phil Younghusband, was signed up by the Philippines Football Federation after an anonymous Football Manager® player tipped them off about Younghusband’s performance in the youth programme at Chelsea FC and his eligibility for the national side). ![]() The Football Manager® database is so comprehensive that it is used by real-life football clubs as a valuable source of information for scouting new players. ![]() The game provides an immense database of clubs, spanning 130 separate leagues from around the world and 50 national sides. Players can manage their own virtual equivalents of real life clubs, controlling everything from pre-season transfers to the tactics on the pitch. The gameįootball Manager® has been around since 1992 and is a hugely successful football management simulation video game. Manchester United Football Club Limited (“Manchester United FC”) has initiated trade mark infringement proceedings in the High Court against SEGA Publishing Europe Limited, the European arm of the Japanese video-game brand, and Sports Interactive Limited, producers of the video game Football Manager® (together “the Defendants”).
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