The Magpie Brand. RIP.

[beatski]

I'm not surprised at all. Actually the only surprising thing is that it took this long for legal action to occur.

Designing the kit to be a close mirror of the Newcastle kit, using the magpie which is a Newcastle alternative emblem/mascot and marketing it, as Beatski has pointed out as an alternative NUFC kit, it is an open and closed case of copyright infringement.

It would be like marketing a cola in a red and white can with a swirly pattern and calling it Cuke.

Their heart was in the right place but this was inevitable.

Cuke.

Not the real thing.

Sometimes Cuca Cula

[Chappy]

They've designed a new top, which is basically the same top just without the Magpie. Just black and white stripes with the coat of arms in the centre.

[bodacious benny]

They've designed a new top, which is basically the same top just without the Magpie. Just black and white stripes with the coat of arms in the centre.

Maybe should have done that in the first place

[Holystone...]

[Duke]

It's absolutely s**** and without the magpie logo holds no relevance towards the club at all. If I wanted an awful black and white striped top I'd rather get without lining these arseholes' pockets.

It annoys me how they're trying to angle it, i.e. as a symbol of anti-Ashleyism when really they're just looking to earn a few quid.

[Aldridge Prior]

It looks weird

Could be really nice if they used a good design, but it's a retro coat of arms badge on a generic modern-ish Adidas shirt

[beatski]

looks a bit rubbish

[Aldridge Prior]

looks a bit rubbish

It looks very s***

[Tomski]

Article about it on The Chronicle: http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/nor ... ve-9979328" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's apparently not completely straight forward on the use of the city crest either...

There had also been a copyright concern over the use of the city of Newcastle crest which is owned by Newcastle City Council.

But a council spokesman said: “The Council has been in dialogue with the group about their proposed Newcastle Fans Brand shirt. We don’t have any problem in principle with the City’s crest being used as part of the design, but we have made clear that we reserve the right to review the position if there are any changes in circumstances. This could include, for example, evidence that the sale of these shirts is part of a commercial operation or if we feel that the Council’s reputation is being adversely affected.”

[ALF]

It looked s*** before, looks s*** now. Awful idea as well.

[overseasTOON]

Bunch of amateurs when it comes to copyright infringements.

By the time I was in my early twenties I had four legal suits against me from two leading global brands, one huge record label and a world famous band for copyright infringements

I won’t directly name the brands and band in question but there are some hints.

It all began in the mid-nineties when a global drinks manufacturer released a new product using skate boarders in an advert. The word ‘Max’ was appended to the end of the original product name and this advert was crying out to be sampled in a song, so we did.

With the sample ready we then began to write a ‘song’ making sure that the origins of the advert weren’t lost so we took the whole product name and repeated it fifteen times to make up the entirety of the verse.

With the verse ready we needed to come up with a chorus and in the charts around that time was a song from a band who used the line “I know the feeling; It is the real thing” and to our minds this fitted perfectly as the ‘real thing’ was used by another global drinks manufacturer.

So we used the same chords and changed the lyrics to “I know the feeling; It’s not the real thing” to create the chorus and recorded it.

One play on Radio One later that year and all hell broke loose.

Eventually we managed to negate any financial penalties as we agreed NEVER to play the song again and agreed that a designated lawyer would be present at all our gigs to ensure we didn’t break our side of the agreement.

The funniest part though was that It was such a s*** song and would have died off far quicker had no company taken legal action but the fact we were taken to court gained us some notoriety on the music scene… which we didn’t plan.

Honest

[505]

The list of trademarks is no longer available from the intellectual property page of the club website, but it's possible infringement comes from "magpie", "united" or use of the magpie image in conjunction with that. Looking close at past crests, it doesn't appear that specific magpie image is a club design - but it may not matter.

We've had the word "magpie" on our shirts before, so maybe it is the association of magpie in any form with black and white stripes

Notts County?

[Duke]

Bunch of amateurs when it comes to copyright infringements.

By the time I was in my early twenties I had four legal suits against me from two leading global brands, one huge record label and a world famous band for copyright infringements

I won’t directly name the brands and band in question but there are some hints.

It all began in the mid-nineties when a global drinks manufacturer released a new product using skate boarders in an advert. The word ‘Max’ was appended to the end of the original product name and this advert was crying out to be sampled in a song, so we did.

With the sample ready we then began to write a ‘song’ making sure that the origins of the advert weren’t lost so we took the whole product name and repeated it fifteen times to make up the entirety of the verse.

With the verse ready we needed to come up with a chorus and in the charts around that time was a song from a band who used the line “I know the feeling; It is the real thing” and to our minds this fitted perfectly as the ‘real thing’ was used by another global drinks manufacturer.

So we used the same chords and changed the lyrics to “I know the feeling; It’s not the real thing” to create the chorus and recorded it.

One play on Radio One later that year and all hell broke loose.

Eventually we managed to negate any financial penalties as we agreed NEVER to play the song again and agreed that a designated lawyer would be present at all our gigs to ensure we didn’t break our side of the agreement.

The funniest part though was that It was such a s*** song and would have died off far quicker had no company taken legal action but the fact we were taken to court gained us some notoriety on the music scene… which we didn’t plan.

Honest

Is that all true?

[overseasTOON]

Yep.

[Duke]

Your anecdotes are immense . Is it floating around Youtube anywhere?

[Holystone...]

They've designed a new top, which is basically the same top just without the Magpie. Just black and white stripes with the coat of arms in the centre.

...
Well spotted.

[rabit71]

We've had the word "magpie" on our shirts before, so maybe it is the association of magpie in any form with black and white stripes

Notts County?

good spot.

[Colback's Orange Tufts]

I quite like the shirt and don't buy into conspiracies that people are lining their pockets. Infact I've just bought one.

Possible small amounts to magpie brand shirt > Definite moderate money to Ashley/Sport Direct

[Tomski]

It would be good if they could have a "sponsor" just to make it look a bit more interesting.

[Remember Colo]

I quite like the shirt and don't buy into conspiracies that people are lining their pockets. Infact I've just bought one.

Possible small amounts to magpie brand shirt > Definite moderate money to Ashley/Sport Direct

How much would you need the club to spend before you came around to the club receiving revenue again? It might seem like I'm being accusational, but I'm actually curious where the end state is for those that want to boycott the club/SD. (I also realize it's not just about club spending when it comes to boycotts, it's also about communication, transparency, etc.)