Liverpool Football Club flips the bird
Liverpool City Council and Liverpool Football Club, both famous mismanaged local organisations, are at loggerheads over who owns the Liver Bird – the symbol of which is proudly adorned on LFC’s reasonably-priced nick nacks as well as atop the Liver Building.
In an attempt to clamp down on counterfeit LFC goods, the football club as applied to trademark the Liver Bird – a move that raises the prospect of individuals and organisations having to pay to use the image in the future, though LFC has denied that this is a realistic proposition.
The Liver Bird appears on the Royal Charter of the city council, which has immediately opposed the move via Deputy Leader Flo Clucas:
“They do already have their crest trademarked, but they have no right of ownership to claim the bird, or any version of the bird, as their own.
Image by davidlemasurier
“The Liver Bird, not only does it appear on the Royal Charter for the council, but it is also used by local businesses and schools. It belongs to the city and nobody has a right to claim it exclusively as the own. It’s a symbol for the city.”
What’s more the owners of the Liverpool Echo, Liver Launderettes, Davy Liver and Royal Liver might have something to say on the subject.
LFC says it wants to protect its own version of the bird, and stakes no claim wider use, but the image of hated owners George Gillet and Tom Hicks apparently trying to hive another piece of the city’s history for their own commercial gain has gone down like a lead, er, Liver Bird.
And the prospect of half of the city – the Blue half at least – up in arms about the move is not likely to be good news for LFC’s proposal.
The whole, rather ridiculous, affair has prompted me to wonder what other everyday objects footy clubs might attempt to purloin. Among the more obvious are toffees, the posh, magpies, blades and canaries. Plenty of food for thought here
Are there any funnier possibilities out there?
Comments
How about Sampdoria’s pipe-smoking bearded rasta?
http://release.com.pl/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/sampdoria_genoa_b2.gif
Remember this from The Spoof…?
http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s6i42692