Madrid star sued over…underpants.
Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is being sued by a man in the United States over the phrase ‘CR7,’ which is used by football fans around the world as shorthand for the player, according to the Daily Mail.
Christopher Renzi of Rhode Island filed the lawsuit on Monday in the U.S. District Court in Providence against the former Manchester United star as well as Danish company, JBS Textile Group, who sell underwear with the phrase ‘CR7,’ a combination of Ronaldo’s initials and shirt number.
Renzi’s lawyer said that the lawsuit was filed because JBS Textile’s legal team threatened his client with aggressive court action after they petitioned him to drop his own trademark.
“The other side says he is trying to trade on Ronaldo’s fame, and there’s really nothing to that,” lawyer Michael Feldhuhn said.
“I knew who Ronaldo was, and I didn’t think of CR7 as some kind of famous trademark.”
Renzi originally applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the use of the trademark back in 2008 and it was granted to him a year later in 2009.
Felldhuhn says Renzi uses ‘CR7’ – a combination of Renzi’s own initials and his birthday, October 7 – on active clothing and for a seven-minute exercise program.
Feldhuhn also claims that JBS also offered Renzi money to drop the trademark, and though he wouldn’t disclose the exact fee he did confirm that is was ‘very small’.
Ronaldo’s brand currently sell their stock in Europe and plan to move into the American market very soon, and Renzi believes that he will not be infringing on Ronaldo’s brand name to sell his own products.
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