World famous football star Cristiano Ronaldo has entered into a legal battle in the US regarding his proposed use of the ÂCR7Â trade mark. ÂCR7Â 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 ÂCR7Â 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, ÂCRÂ is the abbreviation for his name.
RonaldoÂs lawyers have argued that Renzi trademarked the ÂCR7Â mark specifically to profit from RonaldoÂs 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 RenziÂs branded clothing. RonaldoÂs lawyers requested that the USPTO cancel RenziÂs registration.
In response RenziÂs 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.
