LIV Golf and Phil Mickelson ‘are accused of copyright infringement’ by Argentinian streetwear corporation after the American’s HyFlyers team used a nearly identical logo
A trademark infringement suit has been filed against LIV Golf and a team captained by Phil Mickelson.
Argentine skatewear and streetwear corporation Cool Brands Supply have filed a federal lawsuit accusing the HyFlyers GC Team of using a near-identical logo.
Cool Brands Supply claim to have sold footwear and clothing with their logo – which has been trademarked – since 2003, and contend that LIV Golf are using a similar emblem on hats, shirts and sweatshirts.
In the federal suit – filed on Thursday last week – attorneys for the Argentinian corporation stated that the usage of their logo was ‘willful infringement and unfair competition’.
Attorneys wrote: ‘The similarities between the two marks, particularly when used on clothing, are striking, and are confusing consumers and causing damage to Plaintiff’s senior mark and brand.
An Argentine corporation has filed a federal lawsuit against Phil Mickelson and LIV Golf
The corporation claims that the logo displayed by Mickelson is nearly identical to one they have used since 2003
The American displayed the logo while competing at the Masters in April, losing to Jon Rahm
‘Plaintiff previously demanded that Defendants cease use of their infringing logo, and they refused.’
The team in fact did not use the logo when originally formed ahead of the 2022 LIV season.
However, they underwent a change of colour scheme and design ahead of the second season of the Saudi-backed tournament.
The logo in question is first believed to have appeared in February 2023, around 20 years since the Argentinian company claim to have first used it.
Mickelson – a six-time major winner – is joined on the HyFlyers team by the likes of Brendan Steele, Cameron Tringale and James Piot.
As the team’s captain, Mickelson is thought to have a 25 per cent ownership stake in the team.
He wore the logo at the Masters in April, where he finished just behind winner Jon Rahm, as well as during the PGA Championship, which was won by Brooks Koepka.
Mickelson was previously one of a number of LIV golfers to file an antitrust suit against the PGA Tour, alleging that it used its monopoly powers to remove competitions.
However all legal action between the two factions was ended after the ground-breaking merger between the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, the DP World Tour and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.