To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog: A dispute over the use of the word “Inter” that has been ongoing between Major League Soccer (MLS) and Inter Milan is now the subject of settlement discussions, according to a March 2 filing MLS submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The talks fall on the heels of a December 9, 2020, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decision that handed the first major victory to Football Club Internazionale Milano (Inter Milan), the Italian soccer powerhouse, in its long-running trademark dispute against MLS and in particular, Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami (Inter Miami), the MLS club partially owned by David Beckham. In particular, Inter Milan applied for and has been fighting to trademark the term “Inter” to enhance its marketing and branding rights in the US since 2014. In early 2019, MLS, on behalf of Inter Miami, a club it owns under its single-entity model, filed an opposition with the TTAB, contesting that Inter Milan’s use of the “Inter” mark was (i) confusing, in regards to other U.S. soccer clubs going by the same name, and (ii) descriptive with respect to “Inter” and therefore, could not be trademarked under the Lanham Act.