Fergie Is Too Famous For His Shirt - 9/10/2005

Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed that his human rights are being abused after he was denied the right to stop people from selling posters bearing his name. The United manager had sought to gain exclusive rights to the use of his own name on posters and stickers depicting his image, but was rebuffed by the trademarks registry because he is too famous. Charles Hamilton, the barrister appointed to rule on Sir Alex's application, declared that other people should be allowed to use his name on posters because the public would not see this as the manager's endorsement. Alan Fiddes, Sir Alex's lawyer, said that the ruling was in breach of his client's human rights because it discriminated against famous people. Some celebrities such as Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole have been able to protect poster trademarks for their names because they were registered before they were famous. If Sir Alex succeeds, there will be knock on benefits for other football celebrities such as David Beckham. Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney have protected their names for non-poster merchandise including umbrellas, key rings, dolls and bling such as medallions. Sir Alex has also applied for trademarks for a range of products including commemorative coins and these are likely to be approved. You will therefore be able to buy a coin bearing the manager's visage and apparently Sir Alex intends to exploit all his trademarks. However, Mr Fiddes declined to comment on whether a Sir Alec Ferguson doll would be included in the product range. Perhaps there would be a niche market for Halloween face masks.