Manchester City Manager Manuel Pellegrini has applied to register his image rights in Guernsey.
The Chilean, who joined the Barclay's Premier League club during the summer, made his application through Guernsey company Finsbury Image Rights. Managing Director Jose Luis Romanillos said he believed it was the most significant application made so far through the Guernsey Registry's Intellectual Property Office.
"This is what Guernsey image rights has been waiting for - he is a massive name. He was manager for Real Madrid, one of the biggest and wealthiest clubs in the world. We are delighted for Finsbury but we are also delighted for the team at the Guernsey Registry who have put so much time into the development of the legislation," he said.
Guernsey Registry Communications Manager Emma Walton said: "Whilst the registry will not comment on any individual applications or registrations, it is very pleasing to see the development of this groundbreaking legislation."
Mr Pellegrini was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1953 and went on to make 451 appearances for his hometown club. His management career has seen him lead the likes of Villareal, Malaga and Real Madrid. In his only season at Real Madrid during the 2009/10 campaign, his side broke the club record for most league points gained in a season.
He joins a growing list of personalities from the world of sport, media and entertainment who have used the Guernsey Registry to protect their personal brand and identity since it opened for registrations on Monday 3 December last year. Other big names include Great Britain and Guernsey tennis star Heather Watson, professional boxer Bradley Saunders and international DJs, Tiësto and AFROJACK. Corporate and branding specialist Lesley Everett of Walking TALL International Ltd., made the first ever application for the registration of a personality and associated image rights on the first morning the registry opened.
Guernsey is the first jurisdiction in the world to create a registrable image right, enabling effective management and control of the commercial use of a person's identity, and images associated with that person, including distinctive expressions, characteristics or attributes.
Mr Romanillos added: "We are negotiating with some other big names but these things take a lot of time to set up. There is a lot of work that needs to be done, but being able to register image rights in an environment which recognises them by statute is very powerful. It provides greater clarity in the definition of rights and a higher degree of protection from unauthorised use by third parties than is currently on offer in any other jurisdiction."
For more information about Guernsey's finance industry please visit www.guernseyfinance.com.
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