Manchester United are suing Sega Publishing and Sports Interactive, the publisher and developers of Footballer Manager, for using their name in the video game series.
According to PA Media, reported by The Guardian, the Premier League club believe that their trademark is being infringed by using their name "extensively throughout the game".
The club are also aggrieved that their official crest is not used in the game, which is the case for all Premier League sides apart from Football Manager partners Watford. Manchester United believe doing so "deprives the registered proprietor of its right to have the club crest licensed".
Sega and Sports Interactive have responded by saying that the club has been used in an identical manner since the release of the first Championship Manager game in 1992, during which time there have been no complaints from United.
They believe that the club are "prevent legitimate competition in the video games field by preventing parties not licensed by the claimant from using the name of the Manchester United football team within such games".
An initial hearing took place today, during which Manchester United's barrister argued that using the club name without the crest could be categorised as 'wrongful use'.
Both Sega and Sports Interactive maintain that they have done nothing wrong in using the club's name, believing that blocking them from doing so "would amount to an unreasonable restraint on the right to freedom of expression".
What's more, they claim that member of Manchester United data analytics and scouting teams have contacted Sport Interactive on a number of occasions requesting access to their scouting system database.
