Lionel Messi wins court case to register himself as trademark

A European court has ruled that Lionel Messi, the world's top-earning footballer, can trademark his own name. The Barcelona and Argentina striker fought a seven-year fight to be able to use his name on sports goods. His original application was challenged by the Spanish cycling brand, Massi, which argued that the names were too similar and would cause confusion. However, the court ruled that Lionel Messi was too well known for confusion to arise. "Mr. Messi is, in fact, a well-known public figure who can be seen on television and who is regularly discussed on television or on the radio," the court said. The court said that even though some people may not know Lionel Messi, this was unlikely to be the case for those buying sports equipment.