The trademark for the name of the meeting was obtained by Ševčík’s former colleague and friend Pavel Šourek, with whom he parted ways. Ševčík, who despite the controversies remains dean of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Economics, registered the trademark in 2001 and renewed it ten years later.
But last year, Šourek discovered that his former colleague had not applied for a trademark for the next ten years, so he took advantage of that and applied for it himself. The Industrial Property Office registered the trademark and until August 2032, Šourek is the owner of it. Next year, he would like to organize one of the largest international athletics meetings in the Czech Republic himself.
However, the legal representative of the organizer of the meeting is convinced that the rights arising from the registered trademark are not effective and the new owner cannot claim them in any way. His position, which he informed Šourek and the union’s board, is based on the long-term use of the designation “Memoriál Josef Odložil” for the meeting and the business associated with it. It started already in 1995.
This year, the event of the bronze category of the Continental Tour will take place in Juliska on June 5. “The Presidium received written information from Miroslav Ševčík Jr. that from the point of view of the organization of the 30th anniversary of the Josef Odložila Memorial, Mr. Šourek does not change anything due to the registration of the Josef Odložila Memorial trademark,” the union said.
It will not affect the further development of the trademark dispute. “The ČAS board stated that it is up to the race organizer to adjust its legal requirements related to the Memorial Josef Odložil trademark, and the Czech Athletics Federation will respect any subsequent court decision in this trademark dispute,” added the governing body of Czech athletics.
