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September 25, 2026 \u2014 3:00am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n As the Dolphins continue to make a splash in the NRL finals series, the club is fighting a quiet, multi-year battle to legally own its name on team merchandise.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s in no small part down to one man.<\/p>\n Larry Kershaw, 72, has owned the \u201cDolphin\u201d trademark in the class that deals with sporting equipment since November 2018. He successfully registered the trademark to protect a surfboard fin he designed.<\/p>\n The Dolphins NRL club applied for its trademark three years later, almost to the day.<\/p>\n Another nearly five years on, the NRL club on the cusp of its first grand final appearance has been unable to achieve protection for the Dolphins name and logo.<\/p>\n Other owners of dolphin-themed trademarks, such as Swimming Australia, have consented to the NRL club\u2019s application, but Kershaw has held out, leading IP Australia to defer the application until the dispute is resolved.<\/p>\n Kershaw is not a big rugby league fan, although he does have a soft spot for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. So his brush with the NRL was unexpected.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not really privy to rugby league clubs and how they operate and all that, but I\u2019m assuming these people are used to getting their way, one way or another,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut what\u2019s the point of anybody having a trademark if some big company can just come in and just roll somebody over? You\u2019re trespassing on my property, really, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking to this masthead from his Tenterfield home, Kershaw said the first he became aware of the NRL club\u2019s interest was in February 2024, when he received a legal letter asking him to waive his rights to the trademark, with no mention of compensation.<\/p>\n Kershaw said he countered with a $50,000 offer, which \u201cin today\u2019s value of money, doesn\u2019t seem like a lot\u201d.<\/p>\n Since then, in March 2024, official records show the Dolphins formally filed an application to IP Australia to have Kershaw\u2019s mark forcibly struck off the register.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have said to me, \u2018You know, you can make a motza out of this,\u2019 which you probably could if you really wanted to be hard-headed and pull in some big-shot lawyers \u2013 and if you had the money to back you up,\u201d Kershaw said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019d just like to get something sorted out where they say to me, \u2018here\u2019s a cash payment.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cOr, if they wanted to pay me royalties on what they were selling \u2013 maybe that might be a more reasonable way of going. I mean, if I got 5 per cent on everything that was sold, I\u2019d be doing all right, wouldn\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n Intellectual property lawyer Chris Round, from the Melbourne office of international law firm K&L Gates, has had a long history in sports trademark law \u2013 including the AFL\u2019s infamous stoush with Warner Bros over the Tasmanian Devils branding<\/a>.<\/p>\n Round said the Dolphins\u2019 registration was \u201cabout 95 per cent\u201d there, with IP Australia offering to accept the trademark if the club abandoned certain trademark categories.<\/p>\n \u201cFor whatever reason, the Dolphins have decided they\u2019re not going to do that, and they\u2019ve decided to take on Mr Kershaw\u2019s registration,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cMr Kershaw is only registered with respect to surfboard fins, longboard fins, and stand-up paddleboard fins \u2013 that\u2019s a really small thing, but the problem is, the Dolphins have filed for sporting goods.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, sporting articles is a universe of goods, and surfboard fins are part of that universe.\u201d<\/p>\n But Round said people should think twice before getting any big ideas about selling counterfeit merchandise outside Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether you take seven months or seven years to get registered, it\u2019s registered from the date it was filed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cSo if you went out there on Friday night and sold a counterfeit shirt, at the moment, the Dolphins don\u2019t have a course of action for trademark infringement.<\/p>\n \u201cBut eventually, they will have one, and they will predate your behaviour.\u201d<\/p>\n Round said it was unusual that the application had taken so long, but he would not be drawn on Kershaw\u2019s chances of a financial windfall.<\/p>\n \u201cThose who own trademarks are entitled to seek whatever compensation they want from an applicant asking for a letter of consent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have been given a monopoly by IP Australia for your trademark with respect to your goods and services, and it\u2019s up to you as the trademark owner to decide whether someone else can come along and register their brand.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look on the register, Mr Kershaw only got registered because somebody else consented to him getting on the register. So he understands a letter of consent because he got one.\u201d<\/p>\n Kershaw said he hoped the matter would be resolved soon, and in a way that helped his retirement.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not asking for a million dollars or anything like that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI just want what I feel is fair, because they\u2019re obviously going to make a lot of money out of this.\u201d<\/p>\n Citing an ongoing legal matter, the Dolphins declined to comment.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Larry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/e6dfc10fb88274037ede06d11bc3f9275d87d306e2567baed08833454dcf4e93.jpeg\")
Larry Kershaw is a holdout for the Dolphins, who are trying to trademark their brand.Photos by Natalie Grono and Phil Walter\/Getty. Composite by Stephen Kiprillis.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9194a0050c9fb32a478b52de27e2ddddd048e2149e06a4625a66d49d874889b0.jpeg\")
The Dolphins have been battling to trademark their logo for five years.Dolphins NRL<\/p>\n![\"Larry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/33d4c9c8cb99acea7e35594e097df8d5c6f29778.jpeg\")
Larry Kershaw holds the Dolphin trademark thanks to a surfboard fin he designed.Natalie Grono<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/612dea1652d19e0cab557db0120047b21213ce00.jpeg\")
The Dolphins are one win away from the NRL grand final.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9df3f0819cc63d8d0f64ab401b49ebca1d3f2ae77da83384e609926d09aab6d6.jpeg\")
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