SOLE SURVIVOR
Lisbon Lions charity firm beats shoe giants in trademark battle
A CARING businessman raising funds for the Lisbon Lions has won a trademark battle with shoe giant Clarks.
James Dear applied to register the names of Celtic heroes including John Clark for use on a range of clothing. But the high street brand claimed James’s green and white “Clark” crest could confuse customers. Now, trademark bosses have kicked out Clarks’s formal objection, ruling the two brands were clearly different. James, 63, said: “I am very happy with the decision and can now get the project up and running. “I’m a lifelong football fan and it’s upsetting to me to see some of the finest footballers who ever graced the game in relative hardship.
“The idea for the project was how to get money to the players who brought us so much joy and excitement, or to their families.
“It will be an honour to be able to do something for the Lisbon Lions.”
James, from Arbroath, already has permission to trademark the surnames of Lisbon Lions including Ronnie Simpson, Willie Wallace and Jim Craig.
Clark, Wallace, Craig and Bobby Lennox are the surviving members of the team that beat Inter Milan to win the European Cup in 1967. Clarks, which has a turnover of £700million, argued there could be confusion between the brands “on account of the high degree of similarity between them”.
But in its judgment, the UK Intellectual Property Office said: “The marks have clear, visual differences.
“I do not envisage consumers seeing the applied-for mark on an item of clothing or headgear and making a link between that mark and Clarks, which has a reputation for footwear.”