The Reds have come under fire this week for attempting to trademark the word ‘Liverpool’, which would have potentially had knock-on effects for local traders and other local football clubs.
A banner opposing the decision was unveiled at City of Liverpool FC earlier this week, while many people have expressed disappointment that the Reds also tried to trademark ‘Allez Allez Allez’.
This week's @ipapersport column on the ups & downs of Liverpool's recent spate of trademarking: from the genius who registered "6 times" a year before they won their 6th Champions League, to the others which haven't gone quite as planned… https://t.co/lv9zvHCY3v
— Sam Cunningham (@samcunningham) July 31, 2019
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CEO Peter Moore, though, has taken to Twitter to explain the decision – claiming not all is as it first seems.
I met with @CityofLpoolFC to discuss the club’s application to register ‘Liverpool’ in a football context for goods and services. We are trying to protect @LFC against large-scale counterfeiting operations and are not in any way targeting small businesses and clubs 1/7
— Peter Moore (@PeterMooreLFC) August 2, 2019
The context of this application is very important. The club is NOT and would never seek a monopoly over the word ‘Liverpool’ across the board. We understand the roots of this great city and the importance of amateur football clubs. 2/7
— Peter Moore (@PeterMooreLFC) August 2, 2019
We had positive discussions with @CityofLpoolFC and will now develop a legally-binding agreement with @LFC LFC that allows them to continue their great work.3/7
— Peter Moore (@PeterMooreLFC) August 2, 2019
We are under attack from large scale manufacturing. We must protect the global revenues to reinvest in players and infrastructure. Other community football clubs that use the word Liverpool do not have anything to worry about. I have made these reassurances and repeated today.4/7
— Peter Moore (@PeterMooreLFC) August 2, 2019
We also met with local independent retailers. We had a positive and constructive meeting. We reiterated the context of our application, which is not about local traders, it is about large-scale operations that are flooding the market. 5/7
— Peter Moore (@PeterMooreLFC) August 2, 2019
We are under attack from large scale manufacturing and want to protect the global revenues to reinvest in players and infrastructure. We’ve agreed to continue discussions with a view to find solutions to concerns raised. 6/7
— Peter Moore (@PeterMooreLFC) August 2, 2019
We have previously t'marked ‘Six Times’ to protect ourselves and fans from counterfeits.We applied to trademark Allez llezAllez’after a trader attempted to register it;to protect ourselves and fans we did likewise.Their application was refused and as a result we withdrew ours 7/7
— Peter Moore (@PeterMooreLFC) August 2, 2019
It is certainly a good thing that the Reds have addressed the issue and are aware that there have been significant concerns raised. Coming out publicly to explain things can never be a bad thing – though it did take a while from the story first breaking.
Clarifying the position of the club was important so that any criticism is not misguided. The decision can still be scrutinised, with local clubs and traders only told the necessary information after the event, but Moore has at least offered an explanation.