Pubs, restaurants careful to avoid World Cup trademark trouble

Pubs and restaurants are getting ready to host hundreds of tourists for watch parties as the FIFA World Cup kicks off — hopefully without alarming the trademark police.

Many businesses say they are being cautious not to infringe on the soccer association’s guidelines that ban them from using trademarked symbols such as its logo, the championship trophy and even the word “FIFA” itself.

Left Field Brewery sits right across from Toronto Stadium in the Liberty Village neighbourhood and has found ways to indicate it’s showing all the soccer matches without explicitly saying so.

Brewery co-founder Mandie Murphy says she has named the viewing parties “Liberty Match Days,” and instead of mentioning the World Cup in any signage, they have hung flags of participating countries across seating areas.

She says the allusion to the match is enough for people to figure out what’s happening at the pub.

Aarij Wasti, partner at Gowling WLG who specializes in entertainment and sports law, says the city has been policing and enforcing FIFA guidelines on local businesses but trouble is unlikely for businesses as long as the advertisements are compliant.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2026.