With the start of the 2024-2025 La Liga season in Spain, football fans are looking forward to what figures like Kylian Mbappé will bring to the playing fields.
But beyond the goals and plays, there is a growing phenomenon in the world of football that is attracting the attention not only of fans, but also of lawyers specialized in Industrial Property: the tendency of footballers to register their iconic celebrations as trademarks.
Why are footballers recording their celebrations?
In the world of sports, especially in football, celebrations after scoring a goal have become a personal hallmark for many players.
These not only serve to express emotion, but have become distinctive elements that fans immediately associate with a particular player.
Kylian Mbappé, for example, has applied to register his famous goal celebration as a trademark, obtaining several registrations both in his country, France, and throughout the European Union through the EUIPO.
Figurative trademark of Kylian Mbappé 017157355 (EUIPO)
French brand of Kylian Mbappé 4978108
The interest in registering celebrations as trademarks lies in the ability to protect and monetize these unique expressions. A registered trademark gives the owner the exclusive right to use that celebration in commercial products, licenses and other forms of economic exploitation.
This becomes a valuable asset for footballers, who can diversify their income beyond their sporting activity.
Requirements to register a celebration as a trademark
The process of registering a celebration as a trademark does not differ much from the registration of any other distinctive sign.
According to current regulations, trademarks can include words, drawings, letters, figures, colors, shapes of the product or its packaging, or sounds, as long as they serve to distinguish the products or services of one company from those of others.
For a celebration to be registered as a trademark, it must meet certain requirements.
1. Be graphically representable
First of all, it must be graphically representable. This implies that the celebration can be a figurative mark (a static image), a movement mark (an animation), or even multimedia, such as a combination of video and sound.
Some notable examples outside of football include the famous image of Michael Jordan known as “Jumpman,” trademarked by Nike, or, outside of sports, the motion trademark trademarked by Twitter with moving hearts.
Michael Jordan's figurative trademark known as 'Jumpman' registered by Nike 000277913 (EUIPO)
2. Comply with trademark registrability criteria
Although these records demonstrate that it is possible to protect gestures, movements and multimedia combinations, we must not forget that they must also meet the registrability criteria (distinctive character, are not contrary to public order, do not generate confusion, etc.)
What are the legal implications?
Registering a celebration as a trademark gives the owner exclusive rights over its use in the commercial field. This means that, in theory, a footballer could prohibit other players from using his registered celebration in products or services without his consent.
However, it is important to note that these rights only apply in the economic sphere, not in the sporting sphere. That is, if another player performs the same celebration in a match, he would not be infringing the trademark.
On the other hand, although a celebration can be registered as a trademark, it does not necessarily meet the originality requirements demanded by the Revised Text of the Intellectual Property Law to be considered a work protected by Copyright.
This is because intellectual creations require a significant degree of originality, something that can be difficult to demonstrate in the case of repetitive gestures or movements.
However, if a footballer had not obtained a Trade mark, you could still argue that your intellectual property rights have been infringed if someone uses your gesture in an unauthorized and lucrative way.
In some cases, there could also be a claim for violation of the right to honor, personal and family privacy, or one's own image, as established by Organic Law 1/1982.
In short, the registration of celebrations as trademarks is just one of the many strategies that athletes and clubs use to protect and exploit your image and reputation. Footballers often register their signature, name or initials as a trademark, with the aim of ensuring their legacy and maximizing their income in an increasingly competitive environment. But we will talk about this in another article…
louis baz, Director of Brands Area by ELZABURU
