A Warrington pub owner faces legal action after spending £5,000 on branding his new establishment “Nukes Sports Bar” in honour of local darts sensation Luke Littler.
Owen Williams, 32, ran an online poll that determined his bar should be dedicated to the town’s superstar player, who is currently ranked No2 in the world.
However, Williams has received a legal letter claiming to be from Littler’s representatives, demanding he cease using the name due to trademark infringement.
The father-of-one must stop using “Nukes” in the bar’s name by February 21 or face court action, potentially delaying the venue’s planned opening in two weeks, per The Sun.
A Warrington pub owner faces legal action after spending £5,000 on branding his new establishment “Nukes Sports Bar” in honour of local darts sensation Luke Littler
PA
The legal letter claims “The Nuke”, “Luke Littler” and “Luke The Nuke Littler” are registered trademarks.
The notice states that their name, logo fonts and purple and yellow style are strongly associated with Littler and could mislead the public about his connection to the bar.
The darts star’s representatives expressed concern about potential confusion between the bar and food and drink products Littler has registered his name for.
Luke Littler lost to Michael van Gerwen in the Premier League on Thursday night
PA
“When I saw [the letter] I thought ‘how can I afford to defend this?’,” said Williams. “I’ve got a five-month-old so I certainly don’t want to be fighting legal battles.”
Williams believes Littler himself is unaware of the situation, posting on Facebook to ask followers to tag the darts player and “see if we can stop the little man being crushed”.
The pub owner pointed out that Warrington Wolves rugby team hasn’t faced similar issues after renaming their stadium “The Luke Littler Stadium” for a game on February 21.
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“It’s obviously not him [Luke]. It’s the team he’s got behind him, so maybe if he sees this we could work something out,” Williams said.
The ordeal has left him with a “sour taste in his mouth”, with the £5,000 spent on signage, window art and social media branding now at risk.
Williams maintains the naming was intended as “a tribute to his success” and plans to contact the law firm to explore options for keeping the name.
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“Some might say we’re jumping on the bandwagon but it was voted for by the public in Warrington,” he explained. “That’s the beauty of it. We put out a vote and they chose it.”
If forced to change the name, Williams is considering renaming the establishment McCoy’s Bar after racing legend AP McCoy.
Luke Littler won the World Darts Championship at the start of the year
PA
“It’s quite a threatening legal letter and there’s no way I can afford to fight it so it looks like we’ll have to change the name,” he said.
“Hopefully something happens in the next few days to save the money we’ve spent.”