Rangers FC allays fans' trademark fears

Rangers Football Club has attempted to defuse its fans' fears over the transfer of its trademarks to retailer Sports Direct.

Last week it was revealed that Sports Direct, a company owned by UK businessman Mike Ashley, took ownership of trademarks covering Rangers’s emblem and its mascot Broxi Bear.

Ashley currently holds an 8.92% share in the football club, based in Glasgow, Scotland.

The ownership of the club’s 31 trademarks, all registered at the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO), were transferred to Sports Direct on March 25, 2015.

But, in a public statement issued by the football club yesterday (April 12), it said the transfer of the trademarks to Sports Direct was part of a deal agreed by previous members of the club’s board.

In exchange for a £5 million ($7.3 million) loan from Sports Direct, Rangers’s board handed over the security of its assets to the retailer.

The club said: “Although the trademarks are registered in Sports Direct’s name, the position is not as alarming as it may first appear.

“In return for the loan, Sports Direct took security over all Rangers assets—but not Ibrox [the club’s stadium]—including intellectual property owned by the club,” the club added.

Rangers’s current board has stated that once this loan is re-paid, Rangers will take ownership of its IP rights again.

A new board was confirmed at the football club on March 6. Scottish businessman Dave King, as well as Paul Murray and John Gilligan, were voted in to replace Derek Llambias and Barry Leach.

Llambias worked with Ashley at Newcastle United Football Club, which Ashley owns, while Leach worked with Ashley at Sports Direct.

The club added: “Rangers supporters can be reassured that Sports Direct fully accept that all of the IP rights registered in their name will be returned to the club when the loan is repaid.”