BERLIN, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The former goalkeeper of the German national soccer team and FC Bayern Munich, Oliver Kahn, is suing goalkeeper gloves manufacturer T1TAN. The trial will start on Tuesday at the Munich regional court.
Kahn, who is nicknamed "Titan" in Germany, says his naming rights is being violated by the company and their products and is demanding compensation in court. Ralph Oliver Graef, the lawyer of the company's founder, told the German press agency (dpa) prior to the hearing that Kahn had absolutely nothing to do with this.
Graef also stated that Kahn had never filed "Titan" as a trade mark. T1TAN lawyer Graef emphasized that many people would associate the term "Titan" with other famous personalities, gods or metals.
"No one outside Germany knows Oliver Kahn as the titan," said Graef. In a similar fashion, German soccer player Bastian Schweinsteiger sued a sausage manufacturer for naming rights violations in 2010.
Back then, Munich's regional court decided that one of the manufacturer's sausages must not be named "Schweini", a nickname of Schweinsteiger known throughout Germany. The Schweinsteiger case, however, was different, argued T1TAN lawyer Graef. "Schweini is unique and not descriptive." Kahn's management did not want to comment on the matter, following a dpa request.
