Lionel Messi wins legal battle to trademark famous surname after NINE long years

After nine long years, Barcelona ace Lionel Messi has finally been granted the permission to trademark his last name 'Messi.' The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Messi's favour on Thursday, dismissing appeals from Spanish cycling company Massi and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). 

Lionel Messi to trademark his surname? ECJ rules in Barca star's favour

Lionel Messi first applied to trademark his surname as a sportswear brand in 2011. However, the Argentinian's quest to launch a brand by his own name faced a major setback after Massi, a Spanish brand that sells cycling outfits and equipment, filed an appeal suggesting the similarity in name and logo between the two brands will create a lot of confusion among consumers. 

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The Spanish cycling company was successful with his initial appeal in 2013. However, the same was knocked back in 2018 by the EU's General Court. The claim by the EU's General Court was that Lionel Messi was too well known as a sporting icon for any claimed confusion to arise. The European Court of Justice upheld the 2018 ruling, thereby confirming that the Barcelona star can finally be able to launch his own brand by the name 'Messi.'

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Lionel Messi's future at Barcelona has recently been the most talked-about topic in the football world. The 33-year-old took the entire sporting community by storm when he demanded an exit from Barcelona, on a free transfer. He sent a fax document to the club, notifying them his intention to trigger the unique clause in his contract that would allow him to 'unilaterally' terminate his Barca contract. 

Messi's request was knocked back by the club, who maintained the deadline to trigger the clause had expired and that any club interested in Messi, would have to pay his €700 million buyout in full. The 33-year-old avoided being pulled into a legal stand-off with the club and confirmed that he will stay at Camp Nou for the 2020-21 season.

Lionel Messi also started training with the club ahead of the start of the new campaign. He since played a part in Barca's two friendly matches against Gimnastic and Girona, respectively. The Catalan giants won both the matches, 3-1, with Messi starring in an attacking unit also featuring Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann. Barcelona will play a third friendly on Saturday, September 19, against Elche. The club will kickstart its new campaign on Sunday, September 27, with a LaLiga home game against Villarreal. 

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(Image Credits: AP)