Liverpool celebrate winning the Champions League after beating Tottenham HotspurCARL RECINE/REUTERS

Not content with beating Barcelona, Bayern Munich and many others last season, Liverpool Football Club took on another challenge this summer by attempting to win the rights to the name of the city.

Yesterday, however, the club found that the Intellectual Property Office was a more formidable opponent when its trademark application was rejected. Unusually, the club’s defeat was cheered by many of its own fans.

Liverpool had taken on the challenge full of optimism, after victories in the same fixture by Tottenham Hotspur FC and Chelsea FC, which were both awarded the trademarks of their club names. But the Intellectual Property Office stood firm against the champions of Europe, deciding that the name Liverpool had too much “geographical significance” to be trademarked.