United to pay for Jose’s name?

Manchester United may have to pay Chelsea for the right to fully exploit Jose Mourinho’s name when he is confirmed as their manager later this week.

Chelsea still own the rights to Mourinho’s name and signature having registered it as a trademark with the Intellectual Property Office in 2005, during his first spell at Stamford Bridge.

As well as being registered in the UK, ‘Jose Mourinho’ is registered as a trademark of Chelsea FC on the European Union’s Intellectual Property Database.

It means Chelsea can use his name on huge variety of products, from eau de cologne to cotton wool, magnets, leather goods and pyjamas.

In practice Chelsea, who declined to comment, have used it on club merchandise including mugs, posters, smartphone cases and miniature figurines.

The trademark issue is not considered a …

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