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Taken from givemesport.com | Author: Luke Collins | Date: 3 June 2023
Erling Haaland might be enjoying the most successful year of his footballing career on the pitch, but he has suffered a small setback off it.
According to reports, the Norwegian’s request to trade mark his own name has been rejected.
Haaland has had a meteoric rise to football stardom, becoming one of Europe’s most recognisable players today.
You can’t be too surprised, given that the forward has shattered records in the Premier League for Manchester City this season.
Fifty-two goals in all competitions is just ridiculous, but it will simply be the icing on the cake for Haaland if he lifts two more trophies before the end of his season.
Haaland’s trade mark request rejected
With a rise in notoriety in the last few years, Haaland has attempted to trade mark his name in Norway.
But according to the Norwegian news outlet VG, his request has been rejected.
Haaland made three trade mark applications to the Norwegian Industrial Property Office. He wanted to trade mark his signature, his famous “lotus” celebration, and also his name.
The first two were approved with no problems, with the striker now having the exclusive rights to both in Norway and the opportunity to now apply to have them internationally trade marked.
But the third request was not permitted.
According to the report, a similar “Haaland” trade mark request was made in September 2022 by a 29-year-old man from Oslo.
Consequently, Haaland’s own bid was rejected for being too similar to the already registered term.
Ironic really, given that a previous report from the Daily Star revealed he added an extra "a" to his birth name to make it sound more anglicized and to improve sponsorship and marketing opportunities.
What are Haaland’s options?
Should he wish to contest the decision, Haaland now has three months to lodge an appeal.
He has three options: take legal action against the current owner, pay to use the name, or buy the trade mark from the owner.
However, two things are also in his favour.
VG report that if the holder is found to have acquired the trade mark in “bad faith” and has no connection to the name, then the complaint will result in the holder losing the right to the name.
Furthermore, Norwegian law on trade marks dictates that the holder must make use of the name within five years of registering it.
That will usually mean creating products.
Should the 29-year-old fail to make use of the trade mark, then they will lose the rights to it in four years no matter what.
What next for Haaland?
With this incident being dealt with behind the scenes, Haaland’s focus will be squarely on City’s quest to win the Champions League for the first time in their history.
The Norwegian frontman will lead the line for the Manchester club as they take on Inter Milan in the final on Saturday 10 June.