Having used the club’s name and forgot the logo, Football Manager was “touched” by Manchester United

As you know Football Manager is a series football management game most popular in the virtual world. In the game, players can easily find real-life players, clubs or tournaments, which is also one of the attractions of this game. However, 16 years since the first game in the Football Manager series was released, the club Manchester United decided to sue again Sports Interactive – series developer and publisher Sega Publishing.​

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According to The Guardian, the reason given by Manchester United is that Sega and Sports Interactive (SI) violated its trademark. Football Manager games make extensive use of the Manchester United club name, not only that, but also ignore their logo. Sega and SI did not use the official club crest, replacing it with a simple red and white striped logo.​

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Meanwhile Sega and SI argued that the use of the club’s name was “a legal reference to Manchester United in the context of football”. Furthermore, the club’s name has been used in the Championship Manager game since 1992 without a single complaint. In addition, lawyers for Sega and Sports Interactive said the “simplified” badge used in the game is one of 14 generic logos chosen at random by Football Manager every time a new game starts, and the use of it. this logo is not licensed by the plaintiff.​

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In a hearing last Friday, the club’s lawyer Simon Malynicz said ‘Manchester United’ is one of the most valuable and famous trademarks in the world. That’s why it’s so important to make money from franchising the name, logo and related products and services, and it also influences the club’s culture. It seems that this famous football club will still be determined to sue to the end for its name and logo, we still don’t know which side will tilt.​