World Cup Willie company loses case on own evidence
Goodwill in trademarks can last for 40 years even if the mark is rarely used in that time, the High Court has ruled. The Court ruled in favour of the Football Association (FA) which was defending its ownership of a mascot from the 1966 World Cup. A company called Jules Rimet Cup Ltd (JRCL) applied to register a trademark for the …
World Cup Willie was used extensivly for the Mexico '70 World Cup. I remember having key rings, and various other promo material given out by my Junior School.
Shame we went out in the quarter finals. Wonder what the stuff would be worth if I still had it.
For all the 'merkins and other outcasts, the key here is that the sport is Football (the sort played with feet and not hands), and the year is 1966..
Which by some weird coincidence is also the year England won the football world cup, a fact that I'm sure is purely co-incidental to this attempt to commandeer, err, register, 'World Cup Willie'.
On reflection, must have been stuff left over from '66, as I was in a different school in '70. Cheepskates.
My 1966 World Cup Willie (original price 1 shilling) went for £25 on eBay.
It's a plague but no one ever forgets these trivial things quick without looking it up who was president of the United Nations general assembly in 1966. You don't know, but you know Willie. The human mind is a vast garbage dump.
Didn't look it up though so I could be wrong
Good points, but you probably should have pointed out that when we say "World Cup" we mean "lots of countries around the world competed" as opposed to, say, "World Series of Mens Rounders" which actually translates from Merkin to English as "US States Series of Baseball".
Whilst the mind is indeed often a "vast garbage dump" it is important to know the differences to be properly culturally educated. Or something.
