Ronaldo in trade mark dispute

World famous football star Cristiano Ronaldo has entered into a legal battle in the US regarding his proposed use of the ‘CR7’ trade mark. ‘CR7’ is the acronym the football star has planned to use on his new line of underwear that is due to be marketed in the US in the near future.

The issue is that the ‘CR7’ mark has already been registered by Christopher Renzi in the United States, Renzi registered the trademark with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trade Mark Office) back in 2009 and has used it since then on fitness equipment and merchandise, like Ronaldo, ‘CR’ is the abbreviation for his name.

Ronaldo’s lawyers have argued that Renzi trademarked the ‘CR7’ mark specifically to profit from Ronaldo’s increasing popularity, they further claim that the CR7 mark was so closely tied to the fame and reputation of Cristiano Ronaldo that a connection with the football player would immediately be presumed by the general public when encountering Renzi’s branded clothing. Ronaldo’s lawyers requested that the USPTO cancel Renzi’s registration.

In response Renzi’s legal representatives have stated that although the football star is the more famous user of the mark, the case would be decided on who was using the mark first.