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Brand Appeal – FIFA World Cup Special 2026

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From Goal to Brand: Protecting Footballers' Image Rights, Goal Celebrations and UK Trade Marks.

Introduction

The 2026 FIFA World Cup has highlighted the commercialisation of professional football, including the transformation of elite players, like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham into global brands, whose value extends well beyond mere sporting performance.

Modern footballers derive substantial income not just from playing contracts, but also from sponsorship and merchandising agreements, social media partnerships, licensing arrangements and commercial endorsements. Consequently, the legal protection of a player’s commercial image rights has become increasingly important.

Unlike jurisdictions such as the United States, where many states recognise a statutory or common law “right of publicity” which protects individuals from the unauthorized commercial exploitation of their name, image, likeness, or voice, English law does not recognise a freestanding image right. Instead, protection is achieved through a combination of intellectual property rights (e.g. registered trade marks and copyright), contractual arrangements and common law causes of action, principally the tort of passing off.

Among these mechanisms, UK trade mark registration under the Trade Marks Act 1994 has emerged as one of the most valuable legal tools for footballers seeking to protect and exploit their commercial identities in the UK. This article examines the interaction between image rights and UK registered trade marks, considering the principal legal framework and practical implications for professional footballers.

What are Image Right

The expression “image rights” is widely used throughout professional sport but has no statutory definition within UK legislation. Rather, it serves as a convenient umbrella term describing the commercial exploitation of an individual’s personality.

For professional footballers, image rights may encompass their:

  • names;
  • signatures;
  • photographs of them;
  • likenesses;
  • nicknames;
  • distinctive goal celebrations; and
  • other indicia identifying the player.

Commercial Exploitation of Footballers' Image Right

Elite footballers increasingly operate as sophisticated commercial enterprises, licensing their image rights to third parties in order to help promote and sell a whole host of goods and services, typically sportswear, clothing, watches, fragrances, nutritional products, cars, video games, food and beverages, tourism, luxury goods and financial services.

The value of these arrangements depends upon the exclusivity of the player’s commercial identity. Consequently, controlling unauthorised exploitation becomes essential.

Many footballers therefore establish dedicated image rights companies through which licensing agreements are negotiated and managed. These companies own or administer the relevant intellectual property, including registered UK trade marks.

Registered UK Trade Marks as the Cornerstone of Protection - The Statutory Framework

Trade marks in the United Kingdom are governed principally by the Trade Marks Act 1994 (“TMA 1994.

Section 1(1) defines a trade mark as “any sign which is capable of distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings.”

Provided the sign possesses distinctive character and satisfies the statutory requirements, professional footballers may register substantial aspects of their image rights.

Personal Names and Signatures as Registered UK Trade Marks

One of the most common registrations involves the player’s own name. Numerous footballers have successfully registered their names across a broad range of goods and services. For example, JUDE BELLINGHAM is registered as a UK trade mark for, inter alia, cosmetics and toiletry preparations, computer game software, watches, bags, clothing, footwear, beer, insurance services – and even legal services!

Some players have registered their signatures as UK trade marks, covering various goods and services. For example, Lionel Messi and Marcus Rashford have registered their signatures, the latter for, inter alia, jewellery, books, mugs, towels and toys.

Registration provides exclusive statutory rights under sections 9 and 10 TMA 1994, enabling proprietors to prevent unauthorised commercial use likely to cause confusion or take unfair advantage of or be detrimental to, the distinctive character or reputation of the registered mark.

Through trade mark enforcement, footballers can challenge counterfeit merchandise, imitation memorabilia, false endorsements, and misleading commercial promotions.

Civil remedies include injunctions, damages, accounts of profits, delivery up and destruction of the infringing goods and recovery of legal costs.

However, there is a grey area where trade mark enforcement can prove problematic.  Where the name of a famous footballer is used in relation to certain goods or services, the average consumer may see the sign as merely an indication that the goods or services are ‘about’ the person, rather than an indication of the trade origin of the goods. For example, in the UK, it is unlikely that a famous footballer would be able to register their name for goods such as posters, calendars, photographs, transfers and figurines, as their name is likely to be seen as the subject matter of such goods (i.e. the mark describes a characteristic of the goods, namely their subject matter).

What about photographs of famous footballers and their distinctive goal celebrations?

As the UK IPO’s Manual of Trade Marks Practice states:

“Pictures and photographs of famous persons…present similar issues to famous names. However, depending upon the goods, they may be more likely (compared to a name) to be taken as mere decoration and therefore lack distinctive character. ‘Personality or image’ rights do not exist in the UK, consequently a photograph of a famous individual would not act as a trade mark in respect of image carriers such as photographs, posters etc as it would be seen as purely subject matter.”

That said, the UK IPO has allowed the registration as a UK trade mark of a photograph of English professional footballer Cole Palmer for, inter alia, fragrances, dietary supplements, cars, coffee, games and playthings, toys, wines and spirits

It has also allowed Cole Palmer to register a video of himself performing his ‘cold’ celebration when scoring a goal, where he crosses his arms and rubs his hands down his biceps, as if shivering from the cold. As far as the writer is aware, this is the first time any professional footballer has registered a video, or other moving image, of themselves performing a goal celebration as a UK registered trade mark.

Further, the UK IPO has permitted Kylian Mbappé to register a figurative image of himself in his crossed arms pose which he assumes after scoring a goal

The reason why these famous footballers register such images is because they want to be able to control who uses them and to prevent unlicensed persons from doing so in order to sell goods and services.

But, to be clear, their registration as UK trade marks does not give the players the legal right to stop other footballers, whether professional or amateur, from copying and adopting the same poses when they score goals!

Conclusion

The absence of a standalone statutory image right has not prevented English law from providing meaningful protection for footballers’ commercial identities. Registered trade marks occupy a central position. They provide footballers with exclusive statutory rights capable of licensing, enforcement and long-term commercial exploitation. Registration transforms a player’s image rights into a valuable proprietary asset that may endure long after retirement from professional football.

Need assistance?

This is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Should you require advice on this or any other topic then please contact hlk@hlk-ip.com or your usual HLK advisor.