“This ruling will have a very minor effect on our business and our ability to serve our partners in Australia,” Fanatics´ spokesperson commented on the court judgment.
Australian company FanFirm has won what it called a “historic” case against US competitor Fanatics LLC in the Federal Court of Australia, following trademark disputes between the two dating back to 2010.
FanFirm, which has sold Fanatics-branded apparel since 1997, argued that it held “first use” rights in Australia. Its opponent, Fanatics LLC – a US$31 billion sports retail group backed by billionaire Michael Rubin, Jay Z and several major US leagues – had been selling licensed NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and other team apparel into Australia via its website until last year.
In 2022, FanFirm filed suit for trademark infringement. The court ruled in July 2024 that Fanatics LLC had infringed FanFirm’s rights and partially cancelled the US company’s mark for online retail store services. The judgment also barred Fanatics LLC from selling Fanatics-branded sportswear in Australia, including online.
Fanatics LLC appealed the decision in November 2024, but the Full Federal Court unanimously dismissed its arguments of good faith and concurrent use. The combined effect of both rulings is that Fanatics-branded jerseys and related apparel cannot be offered for sale or sold in Australia.
Fanatics commented this legal issue to SGIE with the following statement from a unnamed spokesperson of the company:
“This ruling will have a very minor effect on our business and our ability to serve our partners in Australia,” the spokesperson said. ”Australia is one of our fastest-growing markets, and we’re happy that the court’s ruling in this matter allows us to continue operating all partner websites as ‘A Fanatics Experience’ and hasn’t precluded us from signing many new incredible partnership deals. This ruling also allows Fanatics to continue offering merchandise from third-party licensed brands, as well as all products we manufacture under various other brands. Products with the wordmark ‘Fanatics’ make up less than 1% of our sales in Australia. This ruling has no impact on our ability to grow our business, which we firmly intend to do, and we remain committed to servicing our partners and fans in Australia.”
