Umbro owner at Supreme Court over football boot logo row
Umbro’s owner Iconix is seeking to fight off an appeal at the Supreme Court over a ruling in its favour on the similarity between its logo and an online footwear brand.
Iconix sued footwear brand Dream Pairs for trademark infringement because it claimed the use of the DP Logo infringed on the Umbro trademarks as it was confusingly similar.
Two trademarks are in question in this dispute: the first is registered for “articles of clothing for use in sports, athletics or gymnastics”, and the second is registered for various goods, including “footwear”.
The footwear trademarks have been used by Umbro since 1987, mainly on football boots, with sports legends including Alan Shearer and Michael Owen wearing boots bearing Umbro’s logo.
Dream Pairs sells its footwear through Amazon UK, with small volumes of sale through eBay’s UK.
It used its DP logo for football boots and other active footwear, which Iconix contends are all infringing on its trademarks.
Iconix’s claim is about any footwear that bears the DP logo, but the most critical aspect of its pleaded case concerned football boots and other active footwear.
However, in 2023, Iconix’s claim was dismissed by the High Court.
Umbro’s owners took the case to the Court of Appeal, which allowed its appeal.
The court ruled there was a moderately high level of similarity between the logos, specifically when third parties are looking down at the logo on the side of an item of footwear. Therefore, there was a likelihood of confusion between the logos.
Dream Pairs now appeals to the Supreme Court, and over two days, it seeks to overturn the Court of Appeal ruling and reinstate the High Court’s decision.