Jose Mourinho's protracted move to become Manchester United Manager has highlighted the benefits of the Guernsey Image Rights Register, according to Jason Romer, Group Managing Partner of law firm Collas Crill.
Mr Mourinho had already left Chelsea at the end of 2015, but the club retained a trademark for his name for a range of products, which as a result delayed his appointment at Manchester United.
"This case perfectly highlights the importance of registering image rights in Guernsey and the unique benefits of doing so. If Mr Mourinho had complete control over his image rights, he would have been protected against this costly situation.
"Mr Mourinho or Manchester United will now need to buy back or license the trademark from Chelsea. One of the benefits of registering in Guernsey is to obtain absolute clarity over ownership of these rights. The Guernsey Image Rights Register has been in place since 2014, and is now gaining some real traction with high profile individuals registering. As a jurisdiction, Guernsey has a fantastic reputation for looking after assets and image rights are simply another extremely valuable asset. We are unique in our ability to register such rights."
The Guernsey Image Rights Register is the only way to formally register image rights in the world. It's not just names that can be registered, a voice, signature, likeness, appearance, facial expressions, gestures, mannerisms, photographs, image, pictures and almost anything distinctive of that personality. Famous names already registered on the Guernsey Image Rights Register include former Manchester City Manager Manuel Pellegrini, British tennis star Heather Watson and former England footballer Michael Owen
Just last month, Collas Crill IP Director David Evans hosted briefings for the Publicity Rights Committee at the International Trademark Association (INTA) in Florida discussing the Guernsey Image Rights Register.
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