Manchester City players wore modified training gear during their pre-match warm-up on Sunday following a High Court trademark infringement claim against fashion brand Superdry.
Last week it was revealed that Manchester City are being sued for damages over the use of the word “Super Dry” – a beer sold by one of City’s main sponsors, Asahi – on training equipment.
Some of the immediate impact has already become apparent: until Wednesday 3 January, the day Law360 first reported Superdry’s claims, City players were wearing bibs emblazoned with “Asahi Super “Dry”” before training and games , sweatshirts and jackets.
However, since the middle of last week, including in the warm-up before Sunday’s FA Cup match against Huddersfield Town, the players’ clothing has been changed to “Asahi 0.0%”.
Manchester City wore training tops without the ‘Super ‘Dry’ branding over the weekend (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
However, as the British clothing brand Superdry is also seeking an injunction and financial compensation, and may even choose to “destroy” City’s “Super “Dry” brand training equipment, there will be more progress in the future.
here, Competitor Explains what we know so far and what might happen next.
What does Superdry want? Why?
Superdry claimed that Manchester City had “unfairly benefited” by “taking advantage of…the coattails of the famous Superdry registration” and argued that its brand could be “tarnished” by poor quality clothing sold by Manchester City.
It also claimed that its brand was likely to be affected by “negative perceptions or prejudices against Manchester City Football Club in the minds of supporters of rival football clubs” and said the club’s use of the Superdry brand could “damage Superdry’s reputation”.
Superdry said that “the appearance of the (training) kit could easily deceive a large number of the British public into believing that the (training) kit is clothing designed or sold by (Superdry).”
As a result, the brand is seeking financial compensation from Manchester City. According to court documents, the company is “unable at this time to quantify the exact financial value of this claim,” but intends that these damages “include … any unfair profits made by the infringer as a result of the infringement.”
The amount of Manchester City’s training kit sponsorship with Asahi has not been disclosed, but reports suggest the club’s former partner OKX is paying $20m (£18.5m) for the 2022-23 season, so speculation is that the new deal will be in a similar bracket.
At the end of December, Manchester City players wore super “dry” training equipment (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Superdry claimed that Manchester City “generated very substantial profits” from sponsorship deals related to the branding on their training clothes and that they “knowing and/or had reasonable grounds to know that Superdry was a well-known clothing brand and engaged in… infringing activities” without giving it any dues. license.
In November 2023, Asahi won an award from marketing agency The Drum, and according to an article on The Drum website, the campaign aimed to “elevate the status of training kits and instil the same level of pride in them as training kits sense and symbolic meaning.” First kit and away kit”.
After accepting the award, Asahi said the campaign, which stars the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and John Stones, was City’s highest-engagement sponsorship of the season so far content, receiving a total of 19.87 million views and 428,000 interactions. Social media.
Superdry also asked the court to prevent Manchester City from using or selling any items bearing the word “Super “Dry” and to require the club to transfer all such items to the company or “destroy or modify” them.
What else is in the court documents?
In a Dec. 15 filing — and Competitor — Superdry set out to emphasize its brand recognition, highlighting its 98 UK stores, multiple high-profile social media pages and awards it has won, listing David Beckham, Neymar Jr. Outfits worn by celebrities such as Jr and Kylie Jenner.
It also mentions collaborations with rock bands Metallica, Sex Pistols, Iron Maiden and Motley Crue.
Manchester City players Julian Alvarez, Jack Grealish, Erling Haaland, Kyle Walker and Oscar Bobb also wore Asahi “Super Dry” branded training equipment, especially It is “Super “dry” Asahi 0.0%”.
Superdry believes some photos show that not all text is always visible due to “various factors such as viewing angle and body position of the wearer”. One of the photos does show Haaland inadvertently covering up most of the “Asahi” logo on his training shirt.
The brand also offers examples of its own clothing in which the words “Super” and “Dry” are stacked on top of each other, like City’s Asahi clothing.
Manchester City appear to have made changes to their training kit. Last Wednesday, the club released a photo of women’s forward Khadija Shaw training in a half-zip emblazoned with “Asahi 0.0%”. On Thursday, there were more photos of male players wearing the same brand of clothing.
2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣4️⃣Ready! 💯 pic.twitter.com/KvIWG33qFx
— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 3, 2024
The last time “Super Dry” brand products were publicly unveiled was during the Premier League match against Sheffield United on December 30.
City have yet to comment and it is unclear when they learned of the allegations against them.
What impact will it have on cities?
Manchester City announced in July that beer brand Asahi Super “Dry” would appear on men’s and women’s training kit for the 2023-24 season.
They said in a statement at the time: “Since the partnership began, the Asahi Super Dry brand has been integrated across a number of different areas, including the rebranding of the Asahi Super Dry Tunnel Club and the wider installation of cutting-edge technology across Atty. Technology has been incorporated into the Hard Stadium to provide Manchester City fans with a unique Japanese extra-dry taste.”
The claim only relates to training clothing and not hospitality services at Manchester City’s tunnel club.
Although the Super Dry brand itself belongs to Asahi and is a trademark associated with beer advertising rather than clothing, Manchester City have found themselves embroiled in claims because they own and are selling products with the controversial wording.
No date has been set for further court hearings and it’s unclear when a resolution will be reached.
Superdry, Asahi and Manchester City all declined to comment.
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(Popular Photo: Getty Images)
