Superdry and Manchester City reach settlement over trademark dispute

Manchester City is believed to have reached a settlement agreement with British label Superdry, which had claimed the football club’s sponsorship deal with Japanese beer brand Asahi Super ‘Dry’ infringed on trademark rights.

The case will therefore no longer go to London’s High Court, where it was due for trial on Tuesday. This is according to the Financial Times, which said the terms of the settlement had not been disclosed.

Superdry told the media outlet that the “parties have reached a mutual settlement to resolve the dispute”, while Asahi also confirmed that a deal had taken place. Manchester City declined to comment, FT noted.

Superdry first sued Manchester City a year ago now, alleging that the football club’s new training kit, on which Asahi Super ‘Dry’ are displayed, could confuse the average consumer.

With this, the brand requested an injunction to restrain the club from using its name, while pursuing damages that it had previously stated it was unable to quantify the exact value of.

In its defence, Manchester City’s parent company, City Football Group, said it had not infringed on Superdry’s trademark and denied that the difference between the Asahi logo and the Superdry logo would go unnoticed by the average consumer.

The dispute is one in a long string of back and forth between Superdry and the Japanese beer brand, which had initially tried and failed to block the apparel retailer from registering its trademark back in 2003.