Everton in legal wrangle with Yorkshire farm

, 11 December, 26comments  |  Jump to most recent
The club are apparently involved a legal dispute with a farm in the village of Everton, near Doncaster over the name of their shop.

Everton FC see the name of Everton Farm's store as a trademark infringement but, following a counter by owner Daniela Troop, the club are now seeking a compromise whereby the farm reduces the prominence and font of their logo.

» Read the full article at The Telegraph



Reader Comments (26)

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Ron Sear
1 Posted 11/12/2015 at 17:03:47
What ruddy idiot decided to go ahead with this legal farce? It makes Everton a complete laughing stock in the eyes of the media. Whoever started it needs firing now for downright stupidity.
Paul Andrews
2 Posted 11/12/2015 at 17:29:27
Our board have done this in a fit of jealousy.

The directors of the farm have put more money into their company than our board have into theirs.
Steve Carse
3 Posted 11/12/2015 at 17:39:08
Doubtless the Club will try and make a PR benefit out of this now. Pity the Club doesn’t turn its legal people on more important issues... eg, the LFC action to gain control of the use of the Liver Bird.
Denis Richardson
4 Posted 11/12/2015 at 18:22:32
This really is ridiculous given the town is called Everton.

Why couldn't the club form a token partnership and have them deliver the meat for catering events at the club. Build up some goodwill and maybe get the whole of Everton village supporting the club.....but no, we'd rather be petty and make ourselves look idiotic in the press.

Ray Roche
5 Posted 11/12/2015 at 18:26:53
Denis, that’s a great idea, supplying the club with quality fare. You wonder just how many dickheads work at Everton to allow this to get off the ground! I despair of this club sometimes....

Anyway, there is one Evertonian living there right now... my nephew.

John Daley
6 Posted 11/12/2015 at 19:02:26
"Whoever started it needs firing now for downright stupidity."

That would be the family themselves who applied for a trademark on the name.

John Hughes
7 Posted 11/12/2015 at 19:38:04
Everton FC: "How to win friends and influence people". The village was there before we were. Shades of posh spice and Peterboro’ Utd. Don’t we get enough poor (bad) press without this?
Ernie Baywood
8 Posted 11/12/2015 at 20:25:17
Doesn't sound like Everton have taken legal action to me. Sounds like she tried to trademark the logo and we've objected on the grounds that she's using the same font as us for the word Everton (admittedly in upper case).

A bit petty given no-one would ever confuse the two. Mind you I don't know what kind of issues this potentially causes the club.

John Daley
9 Posted 11/12/2015 at 21:13:11
Everton aren't being aggressors or 'bully boys' in this instance. This farm shop applied for a trademark, using the name Everton, in areas in which Everton FC already hold copyright. As such they would have been informed by the Intellectual Property Office and given the opportunity to oppose it. Which they obviously did. What's the point of a trademark if you're not going to keep a tight grip on it and just let anyone make use of the name for their own ends?

The issue is the unnecessary prominence and significance being given to the Everton part of the sign, way over and above the teenie weenie, faded out words that actually let the world (or a squad of slack-jawed yokels) know what the business actually is. That's all.

It's not like someone associated with Everton FC was on a Xmas piss up at the Slaughtered Lamb, got so drunk that they ignored instructions to "stay off the moors and beware the moon", meandered upon this little shop and thought 'Fucking hell, we're not standing for this shit. Wait until I tell Bill. He'll blow his top at the cheeky bastards'.

The club were informed of a potential infringement and rather than trying to ride roughshod over the 'little guy', offered a solution that seems pretty reasonable in the circumstances. They're not demanding they change the name or remove any reference to Everton. They just want the sign changed so sole emphasis isn't being placed on that one part. What's unreasonable about that? If the shop is called Everton Farm Store, why the shooing away of the farm store bit on the sign? Is it a fucking secret or something?

Anyway, this all happened months ago, which raises the question of why it's being brought up now? A bit of free, pre-crimbo, publicity/sympathy, sure beats shovelling pig shit I suppose.

Guy Hastings
10 Posted 11/12/2015 at 22:08:34
If she agrees to rename it Finch Farm, sell it to her local council and lease it back while all the time making EFC look stupid, what can possibly go wrong?
Phil Sammon
11 Posted 11/12/2015 at 22:26:18
I agree with John Daley, above.

The prominence and style of the word EVERTON and her repeated assertions that 'Everton FC should come and taste some Everton', lead me to think that she desperately wants to associate her business with EFC.

Everton have dealt with it more than fairly. A brand has to defend its trademarks.

Eugene Ruane
12 Posted 11/12/2015 at 22:34:59
'When I was told about the objection, I cried. It was so upsetting and actually quite scary to be up against such a wealthy club'

Who..us?

Pffft! - if they knew what we know, they'd be suing us over the use of Finch Farm).

Come to think of it, this story reminds me of a similar case a few years ago, when a crumpet shop in the Lincolnshire village of Shickagoberrs, got into a spat with an NFL franchise.

Paul Hewitt
13 Posted 11/12/2015 at 22:58:43
Everton should be ashamed over this. A woman in a village called EVERTON (been there since 1440) has been told she can't use the name Everton. Maybe she should sue Everton.
Lyndon Lloyd
14 Posted 12/12/2015 at 00:23:27
The thing is, Paul (13), Everton aren’t telling her she can’t use the name Everton; they’re simply asking her to adjust the visual emphasis on her logo so it looks less like the name of her company is "Everton" and more like what it actually is - i.e. "Everton Farm Store". I’m guessing that even "Everton Farm" (with store in small) would probably be acceptable.

The fact that she has used a serif font (it’s not the same as the club’s but the character of the typeface is similar) is obviously seen as only adding to the conflict.

As others have suggested above, as harsh as this may seem on a family operation in another part of the country, the club have to go after any and all potential copyright and trademark infringements in order to protect themselves further down the road.

David Barks
15 Posted 12/12/2015 at 00:49:26
Everton has done absolutely nothing wrong. A business has every right to protect their trademark. They didn't go after her, they only asked her to edit her trademark application. All just normal business, get over it people.
Keith Hollis
16 Posted 12/12/2015 at 09:42:23
I think she should move to Walton to avoid confusion.
John Hughes
17 Posted 12/12/2015 at 11:36:31
"Get over it people". My house is called "Everton" are they going to make me change the name.
Colin Glassar
18 Posted 12/12/2015 at 11:43:09
I'm sure an out of court settlement, let's say 10 bob, will keep Boys Pen Bill happy and we can all forget his sordid affair.
Ernie Baywood
19 Posted 12/12/2015 at 12:13:27
John Hughes #16. Do you plan to trademark the name?
John Hughes
20 Posted 12/12/2015 at 12:47:00
No! But it is on my address. By the way, it was tongue in cheek, I was not being pedantic.
Chris Corn
21 Posted 12/12/2015 at 16:03:21
Haha.. Only on ToffeeWeb. Apparently our deals with Chang and Kitbag are the biggest load of shite this side of Christendom and now everyone wants us to form a partnership with some Doris who sells pork chops and chutneys.
Ray Roche
22 Posted 12/12/2015 at 16:09:53
Good post John Daley#9, why didn’t Everton have the foresight to see how bad this would look in the press?

Why don’t we have someone on the staff in a position to put a positive spin on this, even to welcome the shop to provide, as Denis says, some quality food for the Corporate Boxes? I was there during the Summer visiting relatives, quite a nice little area/village.

John Hughes
23 Posted 12/12/2015 at 17:32:50
Good job Ma Noblett not still alive with her "EVERTON TOFFEE", the shit would really hit the fan!
Matt Traynor
26 Posted 14/12/2015 at 05:59:12
Of course this wouldn't be the first incidence of Everton and Farm. Remember the Home Farm Everton sponsorship deal? At least we got Richard Dunne out of it!

There's a pub in the village which does decent real ale. Recommend you don't have a pint though. The first half is great, but the second is shite...

Okay, but really, seriously, did you know there's a church there called Holy Trinity? Those fuckers are ripping us off left right and centre (even though the church dates back to the 11th century).

Ian Jones
27 Posted 14/12/2015 at 13:30:56
I don't claim to know anything about trademark infrigements etc, but surely we could also agree to stock Everton merchandise in her store. At least that would be one more outlet we could get stuff from.
Andy Mack
28 Posted 14/12/2015 at 15:17:16
The font does look a bit EFC-ish, the whole logo possibly designed by whoever was responsible for our cartoon tower last year. Send Yakubu and Hibbo down to trade a few pies for fresh trout, Crisis over, EFC look like the good guys.

Our legal team must be trembling, I wish I meant that ironically.


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