Saints win fleur-de-lis trademark case over alleged descendant of French royalty

A man who claims to be a “direct descendant of the Kings of France” has lost his legal bid to wrest control of the fleur-de-lis symbol from the New Orleans Saints, after a US appeals court found he had no standing to challenge the team’s decades-old trademark.

Michel J Messier of Rutland, Vermont, argued that his family held intellectual property rights to the fleur-de-lis due to their alleged royal lineage, citing ancestral ties to the monarchs of France, Scotland, Aragon, and Castille. The NFL franchise, which has used the stylized lily symbol since its inception in 1967, registered the trademark in 1974 for use in professional football entertainment.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed Messier’s appeal on Monday, stating that he had failed to allege “any commercial interest in the registered mark or a reasonable belief in damage” from its use. The ruling upheld a prior decision from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, which had rejected Messier’s initial and amended petitions to cancel the registration.

Sportico was first to report the outcome of the appeal.

To bring a federal appeal, the court noted, a party must demonstrate a concrete, particularized injury – a standard Messier did not meet. “He has not alleged that he or his family make, offer for sale, or sell any products or services using a fleur-de-lis design,” the opinion read. Nor had he shown any involvement in entertainment services or commercial activities related to football that might bring him into competition with the Saints.

Messier’s claims included vague references to his family’s “private use” of fleur-de-lis designs “for several centuries” and speculation that he might one day license the mark. The court found these arguments too hypothetical to satisfy the constitutional requirements for standing.

“At best,” the judges wrote, “these are allegations of future possible injury,” which are insufficient to grant a right to sue under Article III of the US Constitution.

The ruling also addressed Messier’s references to the fleur-de-lis’s use at sites like the Saint Louis Cathedral in New Orleans and souvenir goods sold there, which he linked to broader claims of cultural appropriation. But these were likewise deemed irrelevant to the question of trademark injury.

Attorney Julie S Goldemberg of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius represented the Saints, who also hold trademarks for the phrases “New Orleans Saints” and “Saints” in addition to the fleur-de-lis.

Though the fleur-de-lis once symbolized divine right and royal lineage in medieval Europe, the court’s decision affirmed its place – as far as American law is concerned – on football helmets and stadium merchandise, rather than family crests or ancient claims.