Leigh Leopards forced to threaten legal action

Leigh Leopards won the first Challenge Cup Final without the presence of Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors, Warrington Wolves and St Helens since 1986 as they defeated Hull KR in one of the most dramatic finals in history.

The game was decided by a golden point drop goal by Lachlan Lam. It was remarkably the first drop goal of his professional career.

It was a great moment for the club and truly deserved given the ambition the club has shown.

It was their first Challenge Cup Final win since 1971 and comes a year into their rebrand as the Leigh Leopards which has arguably been the club’s driving force in 2023 after Derek Beaumont’s bold idea.

However, following their Challenge Cup win, the club’s logo has been used illegally by some.

It is important to remember that if a fan buys unofficial merchandise, then that is money out of the club’s pocket which will hold the club and the sport back.

They are not the first Super League club to have to deal with this problem with St Helens facing a similar issue.

The club threatened legal action to anyone using the club’s logo without authority:

“We have been made aware and seen numerous circumstances where the club’s official logo has been used without authority.

“We would like to put everyone on notice that breach of intellectual property rights will result in immediate legal action irrespective of the reason for use.”

But let’s focus on more positive things such as the thousands of people who lined the streets to celebrate the Leopards.

Following this, Derek Beaumont issued the following statement:

“We were blown away with our send off and how many people attended that but the home coming was mind blowing.

“I would like to thank the Marriott Hotel in Worsley for allowing us to swap into the open top bus on their grounds. When we left there and turned off the A580 to Astley and saw the gathering ahead of us right at the start point we were simply staggered by it.

“As we continued the journey we were amazed by just how many people lined the streets and were waving from their gardens and windows along the way, in between the massive gatherings in the towns of Tyldesley and Atherton which was unbelievable.

“When we finally reached Leigh it was an incredible turnout and picture that will last with us all a lifetime and made us feel so proud! The scenes and colours on show old and new just embedded how this club can move into a new era whilst retaining its heritage.

“I would like to personally thank every single person who made that effort to welcome us, it is inspirational, it really is.

“I would like to thank Wigan Council for their fantastic support and putting on such a reception for us with big screens and staging and entertainment for everyone. It shows the quality and importance of the town to the Borough and we should be proud every single one of us in whatever capacity.

“I would like to thank our police force and ambulance service for their support of the event and our highways department for managing all the road situations required to make the unique scenes possible.

“I would also like to thank the security staff and stewards that were in place throughout and did a fantastic job. It really was a great team effort from everyone involved that was befitting for the effort of the team to pull off an amazing achievement!

“It far exceeded any expectations and has left us motivated and inspired to try and now have a dream to not do something we did over fifty years ago but something we have never done before. We will draw on these images and videos to push us towards that over the coming weeks months and years.”

Hopefully we can see more statements like this and fewer where the club’s intellectual property rights are infringed upon.