Steven Gerrard, the former player who now manages the Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, has won a legal fight with two Italian sportswear firms – Lotto and Erreà – that attempted to block his clothing range. In 2018, Gerrard launched a menswear line, called SGG Apparel, comprising polo shirts, hooded tops and jackets, in partnership with his former club, Liverpool. Gerrard signed the partnership with Liverpool on the clothing range while still coaching there, prior to his move to Glasgow and the Rangers. Problems arose when an application was made to register “SGG Apparel” as a trademark in the U.K., with a logo consisting of two overlapping diamonds. Lotto and Erreà both objected to the move, claiming that the diamond logo used on the Gerrard outfits was too similar to their own and could generate confusion. The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has now stated that the logo to be used on SGG Apparel is sufficiently different from those of the two Italian firms to enable consumers to distinguish them, and has therefore allowed SGG Apparel to register the trademark. As reported by Scottish Legal News, Erreà has been ordered to pay £1,800 (€2,136-$2,359) towards Liverpool’s costs in the case, while Lotto has been ordered to pay £3,200 (€3,798-$4,194).

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