Heralding a new dawn for Scottish football club branding?

Heraldry — the design, display, and study of armorial bearings, and importantly the forebear of branding. It may have been established on the battlefields of the Middle Ages, but it has recently come back to prominence on the football fields of the 21st Century.

It seems that many Scottish football clubs (as it is only in Scotland that heraldry is covered by criminal law) have been flouting heraldic ‘trademarks’ or ‘copyright’ since their inception. Many football clubs use badges which mimic coats of arms, and although they may not specifically be coats of arms they do use elements that would exist on them. These elements, such as supporters (e.g. lions, unicorns, etc) and also the outer shape of a shield, are actually protected by law and need permission for their use.

This from the Procurator Fiscal for the Court of the Lord Lyon, Alexander Green, pretty much sums up the problem. “A lot of organisations produce a badge, it looks heraldic and it can be described heraldically. And if it can be described heraldically if you want to use it in Scotland, it must be first granted to you by the Lord Lyon King of Arms.” (BBC, 2015)

It seems that many clubs in Scotland have never had the permission required for their club badges.

Maybe now is a perfect time for Scottish football clubs to look again at their brand, to shape a brand better suited to football fields than battlefields.

For more on this story:
BBC. 2015. ‘Scottish club badges under threat’. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/34882922.app. [Accessed 28 April 2016].

Herald Scotland. 2016. Football clubs ‘forced to scrap badges’ under ancient heraldry law. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14426650.Football_clubs__forced_to_scrap_badges__under_ancient_law/. [Accessed 28 April 2016].