Old Arsenal cannon

[SteveP]

Hello.

Before I chase an idea, I'd like to establish whether the old Arsenal cannon (circa 1978 to 1989) is under copyright or can it be used commercially?

Any advice gratefully received.

[AndyJ]

Hi Steve,

I assume that the cannon you are interested in is the one featured in this logo:

Although the history of Arsenal's badges and logos is fairly well documented (eg here and here) I have no idea who actually designed that particular crest. This is important because copyright protection lasts for the lifetime of the artist plus 70 years from the end of the year of death. Therefore, irrespective of whether the crest is still in use, copyright in it is likely to run for many years yet.

Furthermore, the image above is taken from the IPO's registered trade mark database and that particular mark will remain on the register until September 2017, although of course it could be re-registered by the club before then. This means that the logo, including the cannon part, is doubly protected by copyright and as a trade mark.

Much the same will apply to any other recent(ish) version of the crest, such as this one:

[SteveP]

Thanks for the reply, Andy.

It's actually just the cannon - worn on the shirts prior to the badge shown in your reply.

Thanks again.