It has been reported that Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion have demanded that lower league Croation team NK Jadran Galeb immediately change their crest on the basis that it is almost identical to Brighton’s.
Brighton’s crest features a blue circle inside a white circle with a blue border, a seagull in the centre and the name of the club around the outside. The club owns several trade marks for its crest in a number of classes in the UK, EU, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Singapore and the US, and have used the crest since 1977. NK Jadran Galeb’s crest coincidentally features the same blue circle inside a white circle with a blue border, a seagull in the centre and the name of the club around the outside. The Croation club starting using its crest in 2001 when it was formed.
Brighton was alerted to the issue when one of the Croation club’s player visited Brighton’s offices, told staff about the similarity between the two crests and asked for a symbolic donation in the form of equipment. It appears that this strategy did not end as expected as the Croation club subsequently received a letter demanding that use of the crest is ceased immediately.
No formal legal action has been commended yet. However, considering the similarities between the crests, it seems unlikely that Brighton will let this go without NK Jadran Galeb completely changing its crest. Therefore, we may see substantive legal action brought against the Croation team in the future if they do not comply with Brighton’s demand.
If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniels Law on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.
