Arsenal's long-running case to prevent Reed selling club branded merchandise outside the stadium was finally upheld in a decision that will go a long way towards aiding clubs to protect their merchandising revenue streams.
The Court of Appeal ruled in favour of Arsenal and held that Arsenal's trade marks had indeed been infringed by Mr Reed's activities, overturning the previous judgement in the High Court.
Injunctions banning Mr Reed from selling the offending merchandise have been suspended while he petitions the House of Lords for leave to appeal.
The ongoing case has now been heard before three courts, with a different result every time. Initially, Mr Justice Laddie held that Mr Reed's use of the trade marks had not been "trade mark use" and that Mr Reed was not liable for "passing off".
He referred the question of whether such use could still amount to infringement to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The ECJ held that even though Mr Reed's stall bore a disclaimer as to the authenticity of his merchandise, consumers may still interpret the use of the marks to indicate that they were genuine Arsenal goods.
In so holding, the ECJ concluded that Mr Reed had no defence to an allegation of trade mark infringement.
However, Mr Justice Laddie in the High Court had previously found as a matter of fact that consumers would not think that the goods sold by Mr Reed originated from Arsenal.
Consequently, when the case returned to the High Court, Mr Justice Laddie reiterated that there was no likelihood of confusion in this case, and ruled in favour of Mr Reed. Arsenal appealed to the Court of Appeal, which has now handed down its judgement.
For a legal insight into the final ruling on the case, see the features section of today's sportbusiness.com
The ongoing landmark merchandising case between Arsenal and street trader Matthew Reed has finally been resolved after the Court of Appeal ruled in the English soccer club's favour.
