Carlos Rosal Bertrand, the famous Spanish entrepreneur who fought against Nike in the Spanish courts for many years, died on Aug. 9 at the age of 69. He dedicated most of his professional life to Sport Concept and Comercial Ibérica de Exclusivas Deportivas, also known as Cidesport. Both companies belong to Grupo Rosal, one of the biggest distributors of sporting goods in Spain. For more than 40 years, Grupo Rosal has been responsible for the merchandising of well-known and prestigious international brands in Spain, including Speedo, Look, Elan, Ellesse, Isostar, Salomon, Dynastar, Wilson, Puma and Nike. In 1982, Cidesport got a Spanish license for the Nike brand, but in 1990, Nike opened its subsidiary in Spain. This led to an open war between the American company and Cidesport about the rights to the Nike trademark, as a company related to Rosal had registered the Nike brand name for apparel in Spain. Only in 2008, Nike and Cidesport signed an agreement that finally brought the conflict to an end. After several legal proceedings initiated by Nike in an effort to take back the rights for its brand in Spain, the Supreme Court had decided in favor of Nike. Rosal also was the president of the Catalan Golf Federation and a member of the executive board of the Spanish Golf Federation for 10 years.

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