The claim is that in the games of the series the official emblem of the club is not used, instead the game version of the team is represented by a simplified logo of red and white stripes. This, according to the plaintiff, “deprives the registered owner of the right to licensed use of the club coat of arms“.
At a preliminary remote hearing, Manchester United’s lawyer said consumers want to see the club’s coat of arms next to the team’s name, and depriving them of this opportunity is tantamount to misuse. The court regarded this argument as “somewhat new“.
Claimant claims also related to custom mods and patches, which include replicas of trademarks. According to lawyers, SEGA encourages this practice to evade licensing and benefit from it.
Sports Interactive and SEGA in response explained that the “simplified” logo is just one of the templates, and it is chosen randomly each time Football Manager is launched. This should indicate that the official Manchester United logo is not licensed.
At the same time, a ban on using the name Manchester United for a team in a computer game would mean an unreasonable restriction on the right to freedom of expression.
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