FFA lodged "We Sing For Wanderers" trademark

[Sobkowski]

Trademark: 1793848

Initially lodged in September 2016 but looking to be approved by March 2018 (shortly).

 

What does this mean?

Could this prevent the fans/ club from Fair-use?

Is this legally correct for the governing body to protect our fans IP, from improper-use, abroad or locally?

 

https://search.ipaustralia.gov.au/trademarks/mobile/view/1793848?q=1793848

Edited February 27, 2018 by Sobkowski
Additional info added

[mack]

Supposedly acceptance is due in a week.

How the FFA can lodge a trademark for this is unbelievable, it's morally reprehensible to steal a supporters phrase (one that's been used by multiple club supporter groups) to try and make a quick buck.

[luisenrique]

Maybe it's so that they can blare it out of the PA system when there's no active support.

[btron3000]

1 minute ago, luisenrique said:

Maybe it's so that they can blare it out of the PA system when there's no active support.

They should buy the rights to Requiem for a Dream and do a mash up.

Oh yeah, they've got no money.

[btron3000]

What a bunch of ****s.

How do you oppose trademarks?

[mack]

2 minutes ago, btron3000 said:

What a bunch of ****s.

How do you oppose trademarks?

https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/trade-marks/managing-your-trade-mark/trade-marks-and-oppositions/how-oppose

I don't believe anyone will be able to "oppose" it until after it's accepted.

[luisenrique]

The ironing is amazing.

Cracking down on active support from every corner, but hey we quite like that one thing you guys do so we're keeping it for ourselves.

[sonar]

It's like the FFA have a bowser full of petrol and a couple boxes of matches and have decided to burn the place.....FMD !

[btron3000]

5 minutes ago, mack said:

https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/trade-marks/managing-your-trade-mark/trade-marks-and-oppositions/how-oppose

I don't believe anyone will be able to "oppose" it until after it's accepted.

$250!

RBB should use some tifo money to oppose!

[Wanderboy]

16 minutes ago, luisenrique said:

Maybe it's so that they can blare it out of the PA system when there's no active support.

lol. They are almost there. Family AFL friendly.

I can't wait for the next game to not attend.

FCK FFA.

[StringerBellend]

38 minutes ago, btron3000 said:

They should buy the rights to Requiem for a Dream and do a mash up.

Oh yeah, they've got no money.

Finally somebody is down with me on this one 

[alexd]

THEY CAN"T BE SERIOUS...... SURELY THEY WOULD OPPOSE IT THEMSELVES....

[ColdRock]

I find this particularly interesting since it was around Sep 2016 that our fearless management began sending us provocative emails, either threatening the RBB or musing their disbanding. Are our management team in on this sleaze?

[btron3000]

I look forward to the FFA trying to sell "We Sing for Wanderers" merch once everyone finds out that they trademarked it.

[StringerBellend]

27 minutes ago, btron3000 said:

I look forward to the FFA trying to sell "We Sing for Wanderers" merch once everyone finds out that they trademarked it.

By the time the FFA get it out nobody will be singing for anyone 

[btron3000]

2 minutes ago, StringerBellend said:

By the time the FFA get it out nobody will be singing for anyone 

C'mon, given what they've put up with, I reckon a few hearty souls might stick around to sing for yellow.

[sasam]

HAHAHAHA. 

This mob keeps getting better.....

How will they enforce this? Do we have to drop a dollar into a bucket every WDWSF ?

May need anothe RBB driven fundraiser a la bushfire appeal - this time it will be to pay for the licensing of a phrase which was organically built by the clubs members - more so the now "out cast" members. 

Cant believe they have the f'ing nerve...... in public they tear us apart. They let media tear us apart. And then try and profit.

 

Class 41:

 

Sport education; organisation of sport and stadium entertainment, including audience participation events; sport and physical recreation; organisation of sporting leagues, competitions, matches; organisation of functions and entertainment including luncheons, cocktail parties, dinners and other forms of entertainment; physical education, sport coaching, physical training; publication of books, magazines, pamphlets and printed matter; libraries; film, video and radio production; hire of film, video and sound recordings; sports information services; organisation of sporting events, conferences, seminars and exhibitions; production of films and production of radio and television programs; production of webcasts; pay television entertainment; radio entertainment; television entertainment; online (electronic) publication of news; fan club services; holiday camp services; ticket agency services; recording and reproduction of sound, images and data related to football services and being an entertainment and a sporting and cultural activity

 

Edited February 27, 2018 by sasam

[Howie]

The acceptance due date is 6th March  2018 from website. 

can someone explain the reasoning behind this ( FFA registering a trademark )  

[SomeGuy1977]

I don't get it either. Why? So they can license it back to the club once the league is independent from the FFA?

[Erebus]

They are probably trademarking it ON BEHALF of the club. As discussed many times, the clubs don't own their IP. Its a license from the FFA. 

So it makes sense it is trademarked for WSW merch since they are operating under a license.

This is another reason why the clubs are fighting for independence from the FFA, so they can own their own IP (Intellectual Property) and thus make money off it. They are so restricted atm.

[mack]

Shouldn't be trademarked by the Club either.

[EmMac]

7 hours ago, Erebus said:

They are probably trademarking it ON BEHALF of the club. As discussed many times, the clubs don't own their IP. Its a license from the FFA. 

So it makes sense it is trademarked for WSW merch since they are operating under a license.

This is another reason why the clubs are fighting for independence from the FFA, so they can own their own IP (Intellectual Property) and thus make money off it. They are so restricted atm.

Maybe they are. Its just that they are such dodgy chunts they would give Del-boy a run for his money.

I think i am with the others on this, i dont think the ffa nor the club should be trademarking wdwsf. 

[ColdRock]

Unbelievable cherry picking at work here, especially after tifogate. The RBB displays a tifo of a rival big mouthed manager getting his mouth filled with a phallus, so the FFA and club quickly distance themselves and claim piety. The RBB sings a song about themselves and their allegiances, so the FFA and club secretly appropriate the rights to it. To shore up a revenue stream from a product, while admonishing the producer is the height of hubris. It¨s like funding a road safety camaign with revenue from speed cameras

[TheDugong]

Been lurking for a while but this subject really irked me.  A lot.  My limited understanding of IP law, having an acquaintance who is an IP lawyer, is that to retain ownership of a trademark you need to actively defend it.  For example of the RBB had a trademark on "WSFW" then it would be hard for them to stop others using it as this application being lodged unopposed means they were not actively defending it.  However, the converse isn't true.  Just because someone doesn't actively defend their trademark doesn't mean that you can claim ownership of it yourself.  All it means is that it becomes fair game for everyone to use.  RBB and Wanderers membership are not FFA employees so the creation of WSFW was not done as part of carrying out their paid work for FFA.  I am not a lawyer but I am struggling to see the legal grounds that FFA have to claim ownership of this.  I thought this would fall under "proof of prior art" i.e. it can be easily demonstrated that someone else was using WSFW well before FFA lodged the trademark application for it.

[Erebus]

Read this thread. It explains it perfectly. Was done to protect it for commercial reasons (eg on WSW scarves) and so an individual can't claim it and demand compensation every time its used.

 

 

Edited March 1, 2018 by Erebus

[GD07]

Their intentions may have been pure this time. Would have been nice if they'd let us know what was going on.

[hawks2767]

Sounds like this accountant is a bit of a turd ???