Can Federer Leave Nike'S Trademark "RF"?

As the winner of the 8 Wimbledon champion, Federer has been warming up this tournament this week. In the Halle open competition in Germany, the Swiss beat the top 8 in the battle of San Jones, a step closer to the tenth crown of Haley.

And outside the competition, Federer's topic has not ceased. Recently, the sponsor of the Swiss king, UNIQLO said that the company did not continue to use the "RF" trademark plan, and the trademark is still in the Nike copyright.

In fact, Nike has said it will no longer use this brand in the future. In March this year, Federer's products had been removed from the store of the sporting goods giant.

But for many old fans of Federer, this trademark is already very familiar with it. Is Federer still able to get his trademark copyright?

$three hundred million in ten years.

In the July 2018 Wimbledon Match, Federer appeared in the white shirt for the centenary event. People were surprised to find that the logo on his chest changed from Nike to UNIQLO, and the ribbons, Bracers and socks were all Japanese brands.

This means that the 24 year cooperation between the Swiss king and sporting goods giant Nike has come to an end.

In fact, since last March's contract with Nike expired, Federer's new sponsor was once a mystery. Only a month before Wimbledon began, foreign media revealed that the new sponsor of the Swiss was UNIQLO, with a contract value of ten years and $300 million.

This is also equivalent to Federer's annual sponsorship fee of $30 million from 2018 to 2028. This is no doubt a coveted "business", and the total bonus of his 20 year career is only $124 million.

However, the signing of a huge contract with Japanese brands also requires a corresponding "price": the trademark "Federer", which is abbreviated by the name of Federer (Roger Federer), is still in the hands of the brand "RF".

The Swiss apparently have deep feelings for the logo. He hoped Nike could return the abbreviation to herself last year. "I hope Nike can keep a friendly attitude. This logo is very important to me and the fans."

In April this year, some media outlets revealed that the ownership of "RF" had changed. After nearly a year of consultations, Federer and his old family Nike have made new progress in negotiations. There is great hope to get the trademark "RF" from Nike.

However, the words of Aldo Liguori, a spokesman for UNIQLO, seem to have completely shattered hope. In a recent interview with a Swiss media, he said that UNIQLO had no plan to buy the trademark rights of "RF".

You can still absorb gold in your old age.

Federer has been working with Nike since he was 13 years old, and this relationship lasted for 24 years. During this period, the Swiss won 20 Grand Slam titles and won nearly 100 titles, thus becoming one of the greatest players in tennis history.

His last contract with Nike lasted for 10 years (from 2008 to 2018), valued at $120 million. It was during this period of cooperation that Federer's "RF" trademark was officially registered by Nike in 2008.

For the next 10 years, Fei Fei, 37, decided to give her fortune to UNIQLO, not only because the Japanese company provided huge sponsorship fees, but also closely related to the continuation of its brand value after retirement.

"It's great to be able to sign such a long term contract at the age of 37." Federer explained to New York Times why he changed his sponsor. "Because in the late stages of your career, people will think you are going to retire sooner or later."

"For many people, those who retire are just like a meteor fleeting. But they (UNIQLO) feel that I am not a meteor that will fall, but a star that will always shine in the sky.

In fact, watching Federer is obviously a short-sighted move. According to Forbes's latest figures, he ranked fifth in the 2019 earnings list for athletes, second only to Messi, C Luo, Neymar and Alvarez.

Up to now, Swiss people earn a total of $93 million 400 thousand, of which only $7 million 400 thousand is available for tournament bonuses this year, and 86 million for off court earnings.

Besides UNIQLO's sponsorship of $300 million in 10 years, Federer currently owns Rolex, Mercedes Benz, Rimowa, Credit Suisse, Wilson, etc. most of these brands have more than 10 years of cooperation with him.

Federer's "RF" trademark has been familiar to many fans.

Can fei Tian take back the "RF" trademark?

Federer had the same experience as Leonard who just led Toronto to win the NBA championship. He filed a lawsuit at the US court earlier this month, saying Nike had used its personal logo "Klaw" without asking him to agree.

Last November, Leonard switched from Nike to New Balance. In the lawsuit, he said Nike did copyright registration on "Klaw" without his knowledge.

There is no doubt that athlete's personal trademark is very important to them, which has great commercial value besides emotion. Such as Nadal's "bull", Jordan's "flying man" and C Luo's "CR7".

Even if Fei Tian is "not bad money", he has no worries for the next ten years, but he still wants to return his "RF" logo. After all, many fans have become a symbol of Federer.

"This logo is really important to me. After all, it is the initials of my initials, and I will definitely bring them back." Federer firmly stated, "this logo brings personal attributes to my product, and my fans also love it."

According to the New York Times, the "RF" logo had already appeared in 2003. At that time, Federer's wife and her father once launched a perfume called "RF-Roger Federer", which is the early version of "RF".

Federer liked this logo very much, so he brought this concept to Nike. Finally, the two sides jointly designed the final version of "RF". In 2006 Wimbledon, Roger's chest began to appear in the logo.

According to public information, Nike officially registered "RF" in 2008, and made a preliminary notice in 2010. This means that Federer can not use this trademark arbitrarily unless he pays a huge royalty fee and needs Nike's consent.

However, New York Times reporter Christopher Clarey has learned from the sources that "the trademark of RF will return to Federer in the future, and Nike does not have the permanent right to use Logo, so we will see it later."

Can "RF" return to Federer's hand? From now on, hope is not very big. If Federer can't get back the trademark at last, this classic logo can only remain in the hearts of fans.