Handball fans have been well aware of this date for a long time: On 15 January, the European Men’s Handball Championship begins. One of the world’s most popular sports, the tourney offers you, as Partners and artists, a golden opportunity to cash in on handball and handball-related designs. But of course, there are trademarks and other legal guidelines you must follow. Before hitting the drawing board, consider the following words of advice. Unfortunately we will not be able to sell any designs or products in violation of any of these rules, so if you’re looking to bank on your designs, make sure to pay close attention.
Trademarked
The keyword here is trademark rights. The European Handball Federation (EHF) has protected a number of words and figurative marks in connection with the European Handball Championship. Use of these trademarks for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited. Your designs must not use these symbols and concepts. The EHF logo and the mascot in the form of a golden hand are both heavily protected as far as symbols go, and protected as a word mark is the international title of the event, “Men’s EHF Euro 2016 Poland”. Designs that contain these trademarks cannot be printed with Spreadshirt.
Legally Acceptable Designs
Nevertheless, you can express your handball enthusiasm and appeal to your fans and fans of the game with similar designs. The best course of action is to steer away from the official name of the event, relating similar references to the host country, etc. Handball players, handballs themselves or funny sayings that contain the word “handball” are more likely to avert any trademark laws and should be rather harmless.
Rule of thumb: The more general designs are in reference to the sport, the more likely it is that they can be printed.
Overview of Registered and Unregistered Trademarks
This advice is not specific to just the European Handball Championship in 2016, but also for many other events, products and people. When creating designs, you should always keep this advice in mind and always double check if there is ever any doubt. A good overview for anything in the realm of legal uncertainties is available on the website TMview. Simply enter the search terms of the trademark you need to investigate – in the case of the European Handball Championship, for example, “handball”, “EHF” or “Euro 2016”. The resulting list shows you all the symbols and terms that are currently under trademark protection. Play it safe when designing your motifs and your favourite team can cheer carefree in matching handball shirts!
Do you have any further questions about the legal conditions surrounding the printing of designs? Is this type of information beneficial to you, and would you like to see similar topics published on the blog? We look forward to your comments.
