Chelsea star Cole Palmer is trying to trademark his iconic celebration – but he might not be able to stop other players copying it.
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Palmer trying to trademark iconic celebrationMight not be able to stop others from mimicking himChelsea take on Everton on SundayFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
The England international might not be able to stop other players from copying the celebration on a football pitch, but he can protect it from being used in the commercial sphere outside of the ground through his attempts to trademark the shivering move.
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Palmer performed the celebration for the first time in December 2023 in Chelsea's 3-2 win at Luton Town in the Premier League. He reportedly got the idea from former Manchester City academy team-mate Morgan Rogers, who performed it after scoring for Middlesbrough. Indeed, Rogers performed the celebration after scoring for Aston Villa in their 2-1 win against Manchester City on Saturday.
WHAT HAS BEEN SAID
Speaking on talkSPORT, intellectual property, data and contract lawyer Ben Milloy said: "We're probably used to sports stars protecting their names and their logos and that kind of thing. But it is possible to protect what's called a non-traditional trademark. And that's what Cole Palmer has done. He's sought to protect a gesture or a technical emotion mark.
"But instead of filing a name or a logo, he's uploaded a short video of him performing the shiver celebration. And he has sought to protect it for a range of goods and services. And they are the typical merchandise that you'd expect. But as you say, it is quite wide-ranging. You've actually got baking powder in there as one of them. And underwater vehicles. So it's an indication of what Cole Palmer might have in store."
He added: "I mean, I don't really see it as a complication. I had to think about this. I suppose it's possible because we're just talking about intellectual property rights and there are various intellectual property rights and they all have quite a sort of confined scope.
"So I suppose it's possible for Morgan Rogers to say that he has some kind of copyright. If he treats his goal celebration as a form of performance art as a sort of dramatic work then it may qualify for copyright protection. And that might give him some theoretical claim. But it seems there would be lots and lots of hurdles and it seems basically it would not be successful."
DID YOU KNOW?
When asked if Palmer can stop other players from mimicking the celebration on the pitch, Milloy added: "What we're focused on really is Cole Palmer being able to stop people from using it off the football pitch in the commercial sphere, as it were.
"So he wouldn't be able to stop another player on the football pitch from mimicking the celebration or paying homage to it, whatever because that's not in the commercial sphere. So trademarks are designed to protect their kind of outside interests, their merchandising, their licensing deals and that kind of thing."