The European Justice rejects transferring the EU rights of the ‘Diego Maradona’ brand to the player’s lawyer

BRUSELAS, 7 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The General Court of the European Union has rejected this Tuesday that the rights in the European Union of the ‘Diego Maradona’ brand should be transferred to the company Sattvica, owned by the footballer’s former lawyer, after the Argentine star’s heirs requested deny such request.

The European Justice thus endorses the first decision of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) that in March 2022 decided to cancel the registration of the transfer as a European trademark that it initially agreed to grant to Sattvica after the death of Diego Armando Maradona.

In 2008, Maradona achieved the registration of his name as a protected trademark in the European Union for a wide range of products, from personal hygiene to footwear, clothing or restaurant and hospitality services, as well as computer services and copyright management.

After the player’s death in November 2020, Sattvica considered that the ‘Diego Maradona’ brand had been transferred to him and requested the EUIPO to register said transfer, for which he presented two documents signed by Maradona in his favor. The European office initially accepted the registration but backed out at the request of the player’s heirs.

The documents in question are an authorization for the commercial exploitation of trademarks dated December 26, 2015 and an undated trademark authorization agreement that, in the eyes of the EU Court, “do not formally justify a transfer” of the trademark in your favor within the framework of a contract signed between the two parties.

Furthermore, the order warns that since Maradona died before the request for registration of the transfer was submitted, Sattvica could not correct the irregularities detected or present other documents.

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