A good pizza can’t be s-topped: UEFA backs down
A German pizza restaurant hit the headlines after UEFA – European football’s governing body and proprietor of “Champions League” registered trade marks – served up a threat of legal action objecting to its creatively-named “Champignons League” mushroom pizza.
UEFA quickly backed down, blaming its “over-zealous local trademark agent” and, showing it could see the funghi side, stating, “some people are making a meal of this story”. Underscoring that that it takes the protection of its intellectual property rights seriously, UEFA accepted that it “can happily live alongside this delicious sounding pizza”.
UEFA’s tongue-in-cheek, public response was clearly a carefully orchestrated PR exercise to avoid the negative publicity which can quickly develop in an online world where there is a perception of a big brand bullying a small business into submission.
There have been other well-publicised examples of big-brand rights holders who have been praised for striking the right balance (such as Netflix’s cease and desist to a pop-up bar using a “Stranger Things” theme) and those who have been panned (such as Brewdog being accused of hypocrisy when the company, which bills itself as a noisy upstart challenger to the multinational brewing companies, tried to stop a small, independent bar from calling itself “Lone Wolf”, before backing down).
Traditional legal cease and desist letters tend not to leave a lot of room for brand-enhancing creativity, suffused with warmth and humour. It is also rare that a brand owner will see an instance where it perceives its rights are being infringed as a PR opportunity. However, UEFA’s recognition that, from a PR perspective, there was mushroom for improvement in optics of the stance it initially adopted shows that brands need to be adaptable and strike a balance between preserving their rights in court and their reputation in the court of public opinion.
As a litigator who regularly acts to support both brand owners and those who receive threats of action, I am always interested to see the creative approaches taken by some brand owners and invite colleagues to share their experiences.
For more information, do contact: russell.beard@bakerskelly.com
The above is intended as general commentary only and is not intended as a substitute for specific legal advice. It also relates to the law of England and Wales only and no other jurisdictions.
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