DAVID BECKHAM IS locked in a legal battle with Inter Milan over the naming of his MLS franchise.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star intends launch his US outfit next year under the title of ‘Inter Miami’.
The Italian club – whose full official name is FC Internazionale Milano – filed a US Patent and Trademark application in 2014 in a bid to make the word ‘Inter’ its exclusive brand.
That would prevent Beckham’s Miami club using the title.
Now, however, Major League Soccer has filed opposition to Inter Milan’s claim .
It says the word ‘Inter’ is simply an abbreviation of ‘ internacional ‘ and “merely descriptive of the applicant and its goods and services”.
And it points out ‘Inter’ is “commonly used to describe soccer teams” listing several clubs who already use the name, including SC Internacional of Porto Alegre, Brazil, Inter Nashville FC, Inter Atlanta FC, FC Inter Turku (Finland), NK Inter Zapresic (Croatia), Inter Leipzig (Germany) and Inter de Grand-Goave (Haiti).
The MLS notice 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.
“No one soccer team can claim exclusive rights to the term Inter, therefore Milan has no exclusive rights to the term Inter.
“As a result, Milan is not entitled to register the designation Inter for the goods and services set forth by the Inter application .”
Beckham, 43, who twice had loan spells with Inter Milan’s rivals AC Milan, is a co-owner of the MLS franchise, which he has been trying to get off the ground since 2014.
Another co-owner Jorge Mas told the Miami Herald : “The issues raised are a testament to our city and our team that we are already recognised as a global brand before kicking off.”
The US Patent and Trademark Office is expected to rule on the Inter issue by 4 May .
Beckham played for MLS side LA Galaxy between 2007 and 2012 before ending his playing career with a short spell at Paris Saint-Germain.
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Great advertisement for the LOI. How ex Shels RTE commentator could say Matty Smith should not have been sent off is beyond me. Shels lost their discipline at the end.
What a game. Incredible to watch on telly.
Brilliant game of football! Up the Saints!
Incredible match , brilliant atmosphere .I wonder why Pats were only given 500 tickets when there was room for another 500
May not be riveting football, but I’d rather it that way with lots of goals any day. Some incredible finishes, particularly the two Shels goals. They still have a healthy lead but sometimes pressure affects less-experienced sides more when it matters most. Rovers with the more favourable fixtures too, albeit they need a win next week to truly unsettle Duff’s men for the run in. Those sides fighting relegation like Drogheda can become banana skins too in the latter stages of any league.
Great entertainment. Couple of wonderful finishes, Keenas effort from inside his own half outrageous.
Mistakes to be sure but guys on 100000 a week make mistakes.
Thought Shels should have brought on the big lad up front sooner.
It’s like a bunch of drunks doing a 100 metre race. If you’re invested in a team it may seem exciting, but it’s been a very poor season, particularly for Shams with all the resources at their disposal. Even if they do win in the end, Bradders has been exposed as clueless.
@Ian Cunningham: you do talk some drivel Ian!
@Ellis Dewald: Shels have 54 points out of 96, Shams 49 out of 96. In any other league in the world these stats wouldn’t put a team within an asses roar of the title. Just because anyone can beat anyone on a given day doesn’t make it a great league.
@Ian Cunningham: Bayern Munich ran away with the bundesliga every year until last year, did that make it a great league?
@Bert Carolan: Personally I will say yes ;) although not the ideal regular winner I agree. If we had a bit more nerve, BVB should’ve snapped up two of them titles too.
@Ian Cunningham:
Drivel is right
Great advertisement for the league with ROVERS back in it
After shels made it two each, they needed composure, and Duff just throne a tantrum on the line and it seeped into the team, it was a great game, it’s amazing how open it still is, if Pats were to win all four games and get to 59, the other teams are showing no consistency to say they will, poor season but has the makings of a great finish.
Brilliant stuff. Best LOI game I can remember seeing and delighted the TV cameras were there. Now imagine what our league could be with some investment.
The bluffer should be made watch fools and horses
Sh€ls are falling apart again