Arsenal scored one of their first victories of the season yesterday, after the global powerhouse successfully won a legal battle over a Spanish hat lady.
The Gunners have won their case against Alicia Simon, a Seville milliner (hat maker to the rest of us) who has now been forced by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office to change the name of her workplace ‘Arsenale’.
The name of the shop, which was registered in 2007, is named after the Italian word ‘arsenale’, which referred to the shipbuilder yards in medieval Venice, while her establishment is situated in Seville’s famous shipyards instead. A likely story, say Arsenal.
According to Arsenal, the shop had been using the side’s name and creating a “risk of confusion” with the North London team’s global brand. Evidently, there was a worry that red and white-shirted fans would descend upon the Arsenale hat shop and walk away confused, disappointed and of course hat-less.
“We make every effort to ensure that, where possible, we do not unnecessarily impact on other businesses,” read a released statement from Arsenal on the ruling yesterday. “However, it is important that Arsenal Football Club protects its global name when and where appropriate.”
To her credit, plucky Alicia has said that she will fight the decision “to the very end”, which is more than can be said than the Gunners, who tend to fight until the final third of a Premier League season.
