[Albion] Brighton hoping to join with West Brom and Burton in bid to trademark the word 'Albion'

[rippleman]

Jesus, what has our club become?

Greedy

 

[Psychobilly freakout]

Anyone would think the club were selling decent quality stuff. For the most part it’s just tat which is what the fake stuff is too. So we are looking to make Tat only available from the club?

Rather than protecting the income from fans on tat maybe the club should look at selling quality stuff, just a thought.

Absolutely agree, I fear the club have missed a trick here. Some Brighton fans as a rule probably have far more disposable income than other fans, and would be willing to part with their money for cult or designer products that are unique and stylish.
I go to Hamburg to see my friends a couple of times a year, and always make a point of going to the St Pauli shop on the Reeperbahn, they sell such good quality stylish items. Our stuff is looks cheap, feels cheap, and is cheap....

As for the Albion trying to trade mark the "Albion", embarrassing.

 

[Frankie]

So someone thought of this , presumably a meeting was held , after that meeting other people also thought it was a good idea , WOW ! .

 

[jakarta]

Witton Albion were formed in 1887. Leave them out of the cartel, and you might find that a successful Brighton-Burton-WBA Albion-grab gets superseded by the earlier claimant and Brighton & Hove are no longer Albioned!

My Dad's Football Team! Ridiculous in such a one horse town but Northwich also boasted an even older Club Northwich Victoria, formed in 1874. Both Northern Premier League in my time, Vics always had the larger ground and bigger fanbase. Witton and Vics Fans loathed one another which makes the fact that they both sold their grounds for redevelopment and now groundshare a tiny stadium on an Industrial Estate out of town even more ridiculous.

I used to drink in the Witton Club bar on Friday nights when they had a Heavy Metal/Biker night. Remember a fearsome ruck in the Car Park when some Manchester Hell's Angels turned up to disabuse some local oiks who were wearing 'colours' - think they called themselves 'Satan's Slaves' or somesuch.

Needless to say they didn't win the ensuing free and frank discussion.

 

[blue-shifted]

I disagree with most on here.

I think the club should be taking action to make it harder the spivs outside the ground selling "Albion" branded products. Why should these wide boys be profiting from our name at our expense? Surely it's better for any merchandise profit to go to the club.

Anything which leads to fewer half and half scarfs gets my vote. I doubt the club are going after Albion kebabs

 

[Official Old Man]

This is to stop those half & half scarves, you know, the ones that say Premiership because Premier League is copyrighted.

 

[AlastairWatts]

Jesus, what has our club become?

I couldn';t agree more. Don't they have enough to do without getting emboiled in this nonsense? If some clown sells a few shirts ripping off their logo then that's actionable anyway. But to go to these lengths strikes me as abosulte nonsense.

 

[mikeyjh]

My toes curled when I read John Percy's tweet on this so I'm impressed with the response here, it's all too easy to have blind faith and think everything one's club does is great - chapeau. Burton FFS, I don't think there's a great market for counterfeit Brewers' gear! I hate football of today sometimes.

 

[zefarelly]

I'll just leave this here. trademarking the archaic name of Britain as an Island is preposterous.

 

[Wozza]

There are plenty of ' Albion ' pubs, taverns and hotels around the country. At least 5-6 in London, alone. It is a terrible suggestion by the club and I hope they ditch the idea asap.

What's that got to do with anything? The club is not trying to stop pubs using the same.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

And the loathing level rises another inch or two.

This. Can never have enough 'revenue streams' where executive annual bonuses may be at stake eh?

 

[Giraffe]

Anyone would think the club were selling decent quality stuff. For the most part it’s just tat which is what the fake stuff is too. So we are looking to make Tat only available from the club?

Rather than protecting the income from fans on tat maybe the club should look at selling quality stuff, just a thought.

100% this. I used to spend a fortune at the club shop, but ever since the Nike the other merchandise has gone backwards to the point where I'd barely look at it let alone buy it. Their other "leisurewear" is just awful.

If the club had better products no one would be looking elsewhere and therefore there would no need to even try this.

I also think this is doomed to fail by the way. It's a common name for lots of things.

 

[Giraffe]

I doubt the club are going after Albion kebabs

They 100% will if this goes through. Otherwise what is the point. It would be a very visible breach of trademark which they would have no option but to enforce otherwise it undermines the whole point.

 

[Icy Gull]

100% this. I used to spend a fortune at the club shop, but ever since the Nike the other merchandise has gone backwards to the point where I'd barely look at it let alone buy it. Their other "leisurewear" is just awful.

If the club had better products no one would be looking elsewhere and therefore there would no need to even try this.

I also think this is doomed to fail by the way. It's a common name for lots of things.

Likewise, I have only bought a couple of replica shirts over the years but have bought T shirts, sweat shirts and kids clothing in the past. It became such shit quality that I haven’t bought anything for over 5 years now

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

They 100% will if this goes through. Otherwise what is the point. It would be a very visible breach of trademark which they would have no option but to enforce otherwise it undermines the whole point.

This. Can vaguely recall M&S or Harrods - or possibly both - seeking redress from some single owner store in the Med, maybe in Malta or on the Algarve or somesuch. Story normally gets leaked to the trashy UK tabloids. Could google a dozen examples in about three minutes top if could be arsed

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

I really hope they don’t go after Albion Kebabs.

I know it’s hardly a positive advert for healthy eating but they’re an independent shop that really does no harm to the club.

If anything, I would say it’s good that we have an independent place that uses the name Albion along with blue and white colouring, especially on the road which probably has the largest footfall of people coming into the city. It’s the kind of thing that adds identity and is a reminder or nudge to those that visit that there is a community of Albion fans here.

Sure, it’s a bit tatty - but not everything to do with the club has to be squeaky clean. A bit of grit and spit and sawdust look that Albion Kebabs and The Railway Bell provide in support of Brighton is actually quite welcome as a contrast to our ever gentrified image.

I know if I went to Sheffield and saw a clearly independent food gaff called Blades Kebabs in the middle of the city, I’d see it as a sign of the size of the club. Not as an affront to their clubs name.

 

[Arthur]

This is to stop those half & half scarves, you know, the ones that say Premiership because Premier League is copyrighted.

Won't the easy way to get around that is just to say <Insert Team Here> V Brighton? Or Brighton & HA.

I get it from the club but I really don't see the point as our supporter base simply isn't big enough for this to be financially viable at the moment. But then I suppose if West Brom and Burton up for splitting the cost then maybe it is a good time.

 

[blue-shifted]

100% this. I used to spend a fortune at the club shop, but ever since the Nike the other merchandise has gone backwards to the point where I'd barely look at it let alone buy it. Their other "leisurewear" is just awful.

If the club had better products no one would be looking elsewhere and therefore there would no need to even try this.

I also think this is doomed to fail by the way. It's a common name for lots of things.

It's not really to do with better products, football fans will buy any old crap. It's more to do with ease of purchase. The people selling them stand right outside the train station. The transaction time is about 30 seconds. Whereas to buy something from the club shop on a matchday would take more like 20 mins, once you've queued to get in. The hawkers benefit from loads of impulse purchases from new fans who would otherwise enter the club shop and maybe spend some serious money.

 

[GOM]

The club is not claiming ownership of the word - that's not how trademarks work.

They will be claiming (joint) trademarks in relation to specific categories. I would guess: sport and sportswear.

So, if they win the trademark, the club would be able to call in laywers if, for example, a sportswear company launched an 'Albion' range.

But they wouldn't be able to stop, say, a new drink called Albion (well, unless it was a sports drink).

Not sure if you can claim a trademark in a specific area - eg block any businesses in Brighton using the Albion name. That kebab shop is on dodgy ground already, using the Albion name and a Seagull.

IIRC, if you own a trademark, you have to protect it. If you don't prosecute when other businesses use it, you may lose your claim to ownership.

BTW, the categories thing is why Oasis legally co-exists as an unrelated shop, drink and band.

See also: Apple Corp (record company) and Apple (tech company). The latter wasn't allowed to dabble with music, but they cheekily named their start-up sound sosueme. Things got messy when tech company launched iTunes/iPod.

Anyway...

That explains a fair amount clearly enough.

Amazing how these days with limited attention spans, instant gratification and speed to rant, that some people jump to completely wrong conclusions without actually understanding.

I think the Albion pub etc. etc are safe.

 

[blue-shifted]

They 100% will if this goes through. Otherwise what is the point. It would be a very visible breach of trademark which they would have no option but to enforce otherwise it undermines the whole point.

What would be the point of going after Albion kebabs? A kebab shop named after the club costs the club zero money (and possibly could be argued expands the clubs branding in an any publicity is good publicity kind of way). It's the fake merchandise that has cost the club money.

The club should be protecting its financial interests. They are indirectly our financial interests