April 4 – David Beckham’s dream of building an MLS franchise have hit a legal snag over trademark rights with reports from Italy that Inter Milan are planning to sue MLS over the name of Beckham’s proposed club – Inter Miami CF.
Calciomercato are claiming that Inter have filed a lawsuit to protect the use of the name ‘Inter’ and make it exclusive to a single club.
The Italian club – whose full official name is FC Internazionale Milano – reportedly filed a US Patent and Trademark application in 2014 in a bid to make the word ‘Inter’ its exclusive brand.
But Calciomercato reports that the MLS has countered that the name is purely descriptive and is present in many clubs around the world.
An MLS notice reportedly adds: “Because of the widespread use of the term Inter in soccer, the relevant consumers do not associate the term Inter with one soccer team; Inter by itself is not a source indicator in connection with goods and services associated with soccer.”
Beckham and his new franchise will be hoping a decision can be made quickly since they plan to be up and running for 2020 and start recruiting players soon.
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