Pie war breaks out over "Killie" trade mark

The award winning "Killie Pie" has become the subject of a bitter legal dispute between its bakers and Kilmarnock Football Club, which claims the exclusive right to use the name.

After Brownings Bakers sought to trademark the name, the club terminated as from next month its contract for match day catering, which has run for the past 13 years. Having trademarked the name "Killie" in 1998, it objects to Brownings' application. It also claims that "Killie pies" were made by other bakers before Brownings.

The steak pies have regularly won awards for catering at football grounds, and more widely.

Brownings' managing director John Gall said the pie would be rebranded pending resolution of the legal dispute, but insisted his company would contest the club's position.

Mr Gall said: "For years we've been making the Killie Pie and supplying the football club, doing the match-day catering. We were using the name Killie Pie.

"The amount of money that I've given them in sponsorship, for the name Killie Pie, for the catering – I'm well over a million pounds that I've put into the football club."

He insisted: "We're going to keep this going for as long as it needs until they withdraw their objection and if they're not going to withdraw their objection, we will just see them in court over it. We're going to fight it all the way.''

In a statement the club said: "In 2003, it was agreed by the then Kilmarnock FC chief executive that Brownings would supply the match day tea bar catering and as part of that agreement, Brownings were given the right to use the club's 'Killie' trademark on its pies.

"This was a commercial agreement which included an annual sponsorship spend on advertising and hospitality but with no additional charge for Brownings' use of the 'Killie' trademark."

The club added: "In the summer of 2015, Brownings opened discussions for an exclusive trademark licence agreement through their solicitors but subsequently, without informing the club, Brownings applied for their own trademark for the 'Killie Pie' name. The club has instructed its trademark attorneys, Marks & Clerk, to oppose Brownings' trademark application."