Hearts allege football crest copyright breach

Scottish Championship football club Heart of Midlothian FC has said pro-independence banners that included the club’s crest and were unveiled during a recent game were in breach of copyright.

Supporters encouraging Scottish residents to vote in favour of independence at the forthcoming referendum were seen at a recent game at the club’s Tynecastle Stadium with “yes” banners that featured the club’s crest in place of the letter ‘e’.

But the club has distanced itself from the banners, insisting it is non-political, and is investigating the display as a “breach of copyright”.

The banners were unfurled during the clash with local Edinburgh rivals Hibernian on Sunday (August 18) which the home side won 2-1.

In a statement, the club, more commonly known as Hearts, confirmed it was aware that supporters of the ‘yes’ campaign were outside the club’s stadium prior to the game “displaying banners and literature” for fans attending the game.

“We understand these banners and leaflets carried the official club crest. This was done without our prior knowledge or consent and we are currently investigating this breach of copyright,” the club said.

“Heart of Midlothian FC is completely non-political and while we respect the views of our fans and their right to make these opinions known, we take a dim view of individuals or groups attempting to hijack the club crest to meet their own agendas”.

The Scottish public will vote on whether it should be independent from the rest of the UK on September 18.

Earlier this month, WIPR spoke to lawyers in Scotland about the potential impact independence could have on the country’s IP system and its relationship with the rest of Europe.