Trader wins Arsenal court battle

The club is going to appeal against the decision

A London street trader has won the right to continue selling unofficial Arsenal sportswear after a High Court judge overturned a European court ruling.

Matthew Reed is not infringing the football club's trademark by selling goods outside Highbury Stadium, Mr Justice Laddie ruled on Thursday.

He rejected the European Court of Justice's finding in favour of Arsenal saying he was not bound by its decision because it had acted beyond its powers.

This case has given me great faith in British justice

Matthew Reed

The football club intends to appeal against this latest decision in the long-running battle between Arsenal and Mr Reed over his trading rights.

The result has wider repercussions for football clubs and sportswear manufacturers, who fear sponsorship deals could be undermined and millions of pounds lost.

Decision welcomed

But the Gunners fan, who has been selling goods using the club name outside the stadium for more than 30 years, has welcomed the "brave decision".

"The judge has got it absolutely right and we think the Court of Appeal will uphold his decision.

"This case has given me great faith in British justice," he said.

The judge refused to grant Arsenal an injunction against Mr Reed, of Stanford le Hope, Essex, or to order him to hand over products that used the club name, its shield and cannon emblem.

He said the European Court of Justice acted beyond its powers in ruling on facts in the case rather than on points of trademark law.

'Supporters confused'

Mr Reed has always argued he has made it clear that the goods were unofficial and the logo was used as a "badge of allegiance".

This had been previously accepted by the High Court in London.

But Mr Justice Laddie then asked the ECJ to rule on whether that non-trademark use could constitute trademark infringement.

In turn, last month the European court overturned the High Court decision saying Arsenal must be allowed to protect its trademark.

It said the use of the marks on Mr Reed's goods was liable to affect the "guarantee of origin" of goods bearing Arsenal's marks.

Supporters may be confused if unofficial merchandise was sold, it ruled.

However in yet another twist to the case, on Thursday the judge rejected the court's ruling saying it was at odds with facts established at the High Court.

The judge said "No matter how tempting it may be to find an easy way out, the High Court has no power to cede to the ECJ a jurisdiction it does not have."