Manchester United fan targeted over 100-follower Twitter account
A Manchester United fan who ran his own Twitter account dedicated to the club has had his account suspended after club heavyweights accused him of infringing its intellectual property.
Jack Holt, a keen supporter of the Premier League club, ran a page alongside his personal account where he posted information on the club.
The account’s profile picture was the Manchester United club crest.
At the time of suspension, on February 27, the account, called @ManUtd_Players, which listed the names of players who have played for the club, had just 100 followers.
Holt was sent a notice by Twitter informing him that the club had sent a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice ordering that the infringing material be removed.
Twitter then suspended the account.
“The reported account features the Manchester United club crest, copyright of which belongs to Manchester United Limited and has not been authorised for use,” said the takedown request.
“… We request that the infringing material is removed as soon as possible,” it added.
Holt told WIPR that he only noticed the notification yesterday, March 3, having not logged in for a few days.
He has since gathered support from supporters of other clubs on the social-networking site and has changed his personal account’s profile picture to a scrawled hand-drawn Manchester United crest.
“For the record, I have no doubt that legally, United are in the right, it’s more the fact that they chased after an account with 100 followers,” Holt tweeted.
“…It only had 100 followers no idea how it came to United’s attention,” he added.
“I would have been happy to change the avatar immediately if the club, or a representative, had contacted me privately. It would have been more of an honour, to be honest. It seems like a heavy-handed way of ‘interacting’ with fans," Holt told WIPR.
Patricia Collis, attorney at Bristows LLP in London, said: “The irony here is that the brand is now receiving negative press, despite taking the correct steps from a legal perspective. This raises the practical question of whether there may be scope for adopting a less sterile and impersonal approach in cases such as this, particularly where the use in question is by fans.”
However, while it may appear that Manchester United is "throwing its weight about" it is extremely important for all brands, and particularly global brands … to protect and control their online image, she added.
“Allowing unofficial use of their logo to continue could have resulted in myriad problems for them down the line, from difficulty in enforcing their rights against others to commercial difficulties with sponsors and other partners."
Twitter does not comment on individual accounts for privacy reasons but largely complies when it is sent a DMCA notice.
Manchester United did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
