A U.S. man has filed a lawsuit against Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo and the Danish company JBS Textile Group over the CR7 trademark.
The letter-number combination is used as shorthand for the soccer star, featuring his initials and jersey number, but the trademark in the United States is actually owned by Christopher Renzi in Rhode Island, Reuters reports.
Renzi, a fitness enthusiast who came up trademarked CR7 first, combined his initials and the day of his birth, Oct. 7. He currently uses the moniker on items of clothing and uses the name as part of a fitness workout.
The Rhode Island man claims that JBS Textile has been seeking to get him to drop the trademark, but he wants the court to rule it is his. "We just want them to leave us alone," Michael Feldhuhn, Renzi's lawyer, said.
The Danish company uses the CR7 moniker overseas and wants to expand their market to the United States and claims that Renzi only filed the trademark in order to try and profit off the association.
In a court filing, the company notes that CR7 is "so closely tied to the fame and reputation of Cristiano Ronaldo, that a connection with the soccer player would immediately be presumed by the general public."
According to The Associated Press, Feldhuhn says that JBS attempted to pay Renzi to drop the trademark, which he refused as it was "very small."
After Renzi passed on the offer, JBS has reportedly been trying to get the trademark canceled in the United States.
top image courtesy of INFphoto.com