No matter what sporting event you attend, there is more than a chance you’ll cross paths with a faithful South Sydney Rabbitohs supporter wandering around in the famous cardinal and myrtle jersey.
The ubiquity of these ‘Random Souths Guy’ spawned a social media phenomenon. Now, the club is in the process of trying to trademark the term. But what does that mean for the Bunnies? And might there be some unintended consequences?
Weighing on on the situation was.
“The slogan ‘Random Souths Guy’ is an interesting case from a branding perspective, as it seems to have evolved organically through social media rather than as a dedicated marketing campaign conceived and executed by the Rabbitohs. It is clearly associated with the Rabbitohs, and seems to be gaining attention and reputation online,” Rebecca Jones, a Sydney-based trademark attorney at LegalVision told B&T.
“It’s likely that the Rabbitohs recognised the potential value in this and wanted to safeguard it,” continued the trademark attorney. “They could be planning to capitalise on the media exposure by rolling out a dedicated merchandise line under the slogan ‘Random Souths Guy’. At the very least, by registering the slogan as a trademark they’re making sure that a competitor won’t be able to misuse or capitalise on the name.”
Patrick Fair, principal at Patrick Fair told B&T if the trademark is granted it means the Rabbitohs will have the “statutory right” over the ‘Random Souths Guy’ tagline.
That said, even without the statutory right, the Rabbitohs could rely on common law to defend what it sees as its IP. These common law defences, Fair explained, prevent brands from being “misleading or deceptive” and “passing off goods that come from one person as if they come from another”.
Neither Fair, Patrick Fair Associates or LegalVision are involved in the trademark discussions. That said, Fair told B&T he believed it the Rabbitohs would find it challenging for the phrase to be registered.
“A principle of trademark law is that a trademark needs to be distinctive and not descriptive. It’s hard to see how a descriptive phrase like this would qualify for registration as a mark, and it’s also hard to see how it can be distinctive of South Sydney Rabbitohs, rather than ordinary use by anybody who might want to say somebody’s a Random Souths Guy,” he said, adding that the Rabbitohs would be receiving its own legal counsel.
However, proud Rabbitohs supporter Anthony Basha, might find himself and his Instagram page, @randomsouthsguy, might be caught in the crossfire. Basha has been posting images of said ‘random Souths guys’ for nearly a decade.
Talking to B&T Basha, who hasn’t been contacted by South Sydney, said he isn’t sure how the trademark may effect him. But he suspects the NRL club will make him change his Instagram handle.
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Basha also took to his Instagram story to express his feelings on the situation.
“I do not intend on trademarking the name and I never have, I’ve only had discussions about it when people have brought it to my attention. I don’t own the name and I didn’t come up with it, I just jumped on a trend and made it bigger than what it was,” he told B&T.
“My issue is with Souths or Blake Solly not contacting me or showing me any appreciation whilst doing this or planning to do this. I’d be the first one to tell them to go for their life just as long as they don’t take it from me, and still allow me to use my username.
“I have built this to what it is and they definitely know I exist—before writing a big story in the paper, they could have at the very least had a word to me about it. I have helped build this name in a large way,” Basha said, referencing an article published on the Souths’ website discussing how he is the original Random Souths Guy and how he wanted to take the meme to the next level with his Facebook (and later Instagram page) in honour of all the die-hard supporters attending non-Rabbitohs sporting events.
At the time of talking to B&T, Basha said the article had been taken down. It has since been republished.
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When contacted by B&T, the Rabbitohs did not answer questions about why it taken the article down or re-published it. However, the club did have some good news for Basha.
“We’re never going to stop Anthony running his Instagram handle or website. It’s just making sure that anything that’s Souths property is owned by the club on behalf of the fans and its members. We’re not registering the trademark to shut him, his Instagram or anyone down. There are a number of people who run random souths pages or handles. They all add a lot to our club.”
This is not the first time South Sydney has trademarked club-adjacent phrases.
“The club has trademarked a range of Souths-related intellectual property, including The Burrow (on behalf of The Burrow) and Reggie Rabbit, and this application sits within that broader approach,” continued Lovett.
“Since the NRL confirmed in 2018 that clubs are the true owners of their intellectual property, we’ve taken steps—consistent with most major sporting organisations in the US and Europe—to protect that IP on behalf of the club, its members and its fans.”
A club’s identity and distinctive elements associated with it is extremely important for economic and sporting development. This has led to European and American sporting clubs protecting their intellectual property for a number of years now.
For example, French Football club, Paris Saint-Germain has trademarked it’s logo, it’s full name, it’s acronym “PSG” and even its slogan. Australian sporting clubs have been following suite.
