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Coventry City promise to clamp down on ‘unauthorised use of the club’s crest’

Coventry City say a fan has had to destroy thousands of pounds of counterfeit goods – and pay significant legal fees – after the Club’s badge was printed illegally.

The Sky Blues say, because of their large fanbase, the number of fake items available to buy has increased hugely.

Dave Boddy, the Chief Executive at Coventry City, explained:

“We were seeing more and more items available to buy online from sources which were not the Football Club. To see other people selling products with the Club badge on and that money not coming back to the Club was concerning.

“Thankfully, we have been rigorous in the protection of the crest and had trademarked both the current crest and previous incarnations too with the Intellectual Property Office.

“This meant we were able to then take action to stop these products, many of which were of inferior quality, being sold.”

The Club Crest for Coventry City is trademarked – the use of this (or patent, copyright or design) without permission is ‘IP Infringement’ and could lead to a fine, prison, or both. The maximum sentence allowed by law is 10 years imprisonment and an unlimited fine.

Over the last 18 months, Coventry City have been working with Back Four brand protection to ensure the Club’s crest continues to not be taken advantage of, which includes monitoring a high number of websites and social media channels to find and remove listings, as well as traditional markets and venues.

Boddy added:

“There is a clear cost to the Football Club in terms of revenue and potentially reputation when inferior products are sold. We have spent thousands of pounds in trademarking our crest and intellectual property, as well as developing our retail operation over the last 9 months, so it is important that we monitor products that are being sold without our permission and take the action.”

In one case, a supporter was required to destroy thousands of pounds of counterfeit goods following action taking by the Club and pay significant legal fees. The supporter produced a number of counterfeit goods in breach of the Club over a period which continued despite warnings by the Club, resulting in the action.”