The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has rejected Liverpool Football Club’s attempt to trade mark its city’s name.
It comes after the Premier League side made an application to have the word ‘Liverpool’ protected to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods.
Issuing a statement, the Champions League winners said their application to trade mark the word in the context of football products and services has been “unsuccessful”.
“The club accepts the decision that has been taken by the Intellectual Property Office, due primarily to what the official judgement cites as “the geographical significance” of Liverpool as a city in comparison to place names that have been trade marked by other football clubs in the UK,” it said.
“We will, however, continue to aggressively pursue those large-scale operations which seek to illegally exploit our intellectual property and would urge the relevant authorities to take decisive action against such criminal activity wherever it exists.”
The application had faced significant opposition from the likes of Liverpool City Council and the City of Liverpool Football Club.
The club met with senior representatives from both organisations in August after the local authority lodged an official petition with the IPO in an attempt to block the trade mark application.
Commenting on the petition earlier this year, Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: “I have informed LFC that I and LCC will oppose their attempt to Trade Mark the name Liverpool.
“I do not believe you can Trade Mark a City name. I value our relationship with LFC and we will work to help remove counterfeit goods, but we will also protect local traders and our brand.”
While Liverpool failed to trade mark its city’s name, other Premier League sides have been more successful. In 2013, Tottenham became a registered trade mark for all goods and services relating to Premier League side Tottenham FC, while Chelsea FC was granted a trade mark for the word ‘Chelsea’ – but only for “goods relating to and/or bearing indicia of Chelsea Football Club”.
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