Streetwear Inc, an American clothing manufacturer, has made a six-figure charity donation in a bid to settle a dispute with a St Andrews Links Trust over the use of the name ‘St Andrews’ on its products.
The firm, which makes clothes under licence for brands including Reebok, Adidas and Hasbro, launched a golfwear range in the US last year that breached St Andrews Links Trust’s intellectual property rights.
The Scottish organisation has an exclusive agreement with Brooks Brothers in New York to sell clothing using the ‘St Andrews’ and ‘St Andrews Links Trust’ trademarks.
When lawsuit proceedings were launched, Streetwear claimed that it had been advised by third party it could use the name, with company president William Cappiello previously quoted in the American press, saying: "There is no stronger, more prestigious name in golf than St Andrews and we're honoured to have the opportunity to develop this premier brand."
Based on this false advice, Streetwear had already commissioned around £2m worth of clothing bearing the ‘St Andrews’ trademark. If forced to withdraw by the St Andrews Trust it would have resulted in reneging on a supply contract it had reached with a US retailer, to a damaging cost.
To settle the dispute, St Andrews Links Trust agreed Streetwear could sell the collection on the condition that any profits were split 50-50 between charities in the US and the St Andrews Community Trust, and no further clothes were manufactured using the brand trademark.
Speaking to The Herald Scotland, Euan Loudon, the trust's chief executive, said: "The Links courses at St Andrews are the oldest and most renowned in the world. Their desirability has led to a number of individuals and businesses, both in Scotland and beyond, using our intellectual property and trading on local heritage, tradition and success without our permission.
"In order to protect our commercial interests we have a programme of trademark and brand protection. As part of that work we have a duty to track and enforce our intellectual property. We were alerted to a situation involving Streetwear and their marketing of a product bearing the St Andrews mark, which they were not permitted to use.
"We have made significant investment to promote our commercial interests and, like all businesses holding intellectual property assets, have a duty to monitor the marketplace for infringing activity and to enforce our intellectual property as necessary."