Everton in legal wrangle with Yorkshire farm

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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