Lionel Messi is not just a name; he is one of the greatest of all time in the football world. The value he brings to a brand is clearly unmatchable. He has almost 166 million followers on one of the most popular social media platform i.e., Instagram. Lionel Messi in the past few years has gained an immense popularity in all age groups. Whenever someone hears his name they want to talk about him. Last week Lionel Messi was in the news but not for his game but for the trademark of his sports brand “MESSI.”

In the year 2011 Messi started his own sports goods brand in his own name “MESSI.” He made an application to the European Union Office for Intellectual Property (EUIPO) in the year 2011. However, his original application was challenged by the Spanish cycle brand “MASSI” claiming that the popular footballer’s brand will create confusion in the minds of general public as both the brands are phonetically and visually similar. EUIPO after hearing contentions ruled against the footballer that the brand “MASSI” and “MESSI” is visually and phonetically similar and the application was rejected.

However, the decision of EUIPO was challenged in the European Union’s second highest court i.e., European Union General Court and they ruled the decision in the favor of the footballer stating that the footballer is a well-known person at a global level and people will associate “MESSI” with Lionel Messi only. The court also said that “Mr Messi is, in fact, a well-known public figure who can be seen on television and who is regularly discussed on television or on the radio.”

Now the question arises whether a surname can be trademarked or not. The US court answered this question and held that before applying for the surname as a trademark the surname must have acquired distinctiveness. It means that the surname must have gained popularity amongst the general public and people shouldn’t confuse it with other brand.

It is a popular opinion that the richest and the powerful persons only applies for the trademark of their name or surname. But if someone’s name is violating the provisions of the Trademarks Act then the most powerful and the richest person will also not get their name trademarked.