Cathy Hummels, wife of German
soccer player Mats Hummels, has
designed sneakers featuring the brand name "Hummels" in clear lettering.
She presented her shoe collection in June 2018 in Munich, Germany.
It did not take long for the Danish
sports brand Hummel (based in Aarhus, Denmark) to file
a request for a temporary junction at the District Court in Hamburg. The Danish
company wants to prevent her from marketing her own line of footwear (including
sneakers) under the
brand name “Hummels” since it infringes on its Hummel brand name.
Cathy Hummels wants to take legal action against the injunction.
Her lawyer Christian-Oliver Moser went on record stating: "The District
Court made its decision without hearing Mrs. Hummels." That’s why he
considers the claims made by the sportswear company Hummel unfounded, also
since the court cannot prohibit Cathy Hummels from using her own last name.
It was not the first time that Cathy Hummels got into legal
trouble. She was at the receiving end of a civil litigation. The German Social
Media Competition Association (VSW) obtained
a preliminary injunction against Mrs. Hummels for violating the VSW’s rules
regarding advertising.
As an Instagram influencer, she
endorsed products without making it clear to her 342,000 followers that she was
advertising those products. The lawyers of Hummels are fighting the injunction,
willing to take it all the way to the German Federal Court citing “freedom of
expression”. If that would be the case, it would write influence marketing
history.
Moral of the story: Conduct your due diligence before you launch your
brand.
Image
hummelsport.de
