Judge rules in GAA trademark ‘skirmish’ with company

A HIGH Court judge has issued a ruling over what he described as a ‘skirmish’ involving unofficial merchandise bearing the GAA trademark.

Judge Senan Allen said that ‘GAA’ was registered as a trademark under the name ‘Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, a sporting association’, in November 2007 for use on clothing, footwear and headgear.

In 2015, the secretary of Mayo GAA County Board wrote to Savanagh Securities Ltd, trading as T-Rex Clothing, of Castlebar, Co. Mayo, to complain that

Savanagh was offering products for sale carrying the Mayo GAA county crest. The secretary said Savanagh was not licensed to reproduce the official crest, and that this was a trademark infringement.

In June that year, lawyers for the GAA wrote to Savanagh, complaining about the Mayo jerseys, and also complaining that Savanagh was selling shirts for all 32 counties which infringed the GAA and GAA logo trademarks. They said Savanagh should immediately cease and desist from doing so, and threatened court action if it did not. Legal exchanges continued, and by January 2016 lawyers for Savanagh countered that Cumann Lúthchleas Gael was an unincorporated association which was incapable in law of holding property or registered trademarks.

The Controller of Patents Designs and Trade Marks then got involved, and said there had been an ‘administrative oversight’ which could be rectified by a formal application for registration of the mark in the ownership of the trustees of the GAA.

Savanagh appealed this decision to the High Court. However, the GAA has also turned to the High Court, applying for an order to rectify the registration of the trademark. Judge Allen said he had been asked to decide if, as Savanagh wanted, the company should be allowed to crossexamine former GAA trustee Seosamh Ó Baoill. He ruled that Savanagh was entitled to cross-examine Mr Ó Baoill. The full hearing will take place at a later date.