The Rossoneri have been involved in a years-long frustrating legal battle with a German company over a trademarking issue.

Italian giants AC Milan have had a mixed season so far, with the Rossoneri excelling once again in Serie A, but struggling in what is their first foray into the Champions League for eight years. Meanwhile, although the Diavolo are now on hiatus due to the latest installment of international fixtures, they're still waging another battle - this time off the pitch.

Indeed, for the past four years, Milan have been involved in a legal fight with a German entity. No, this isn't another football team, but rather a company called InterES Handels-und Dienstleistungs Gesellschaft mbH & Co KG, which makes a variety of products, including stationery for students.

If it seems a bit ironically amusing that a company which is called "Inter" is involved in a battle with Milan, well it is. InterES sells products under the brand name MILAN, and have been using that for since 1984. The Rossoneri have been seeking to get intellectual property protection via the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office), but so far have been unsuccessful as InterES feels they've already cornered that market in terms of selling MILAN-branded stationery products.

In short, they've put forth the argument that if AC Milan were permitted to sell their wares with the AC Milan logo, it would be a copyright infringement as the Diavolo do sell a wide range of fan merchandise, and that includes notebooks, pens, cups, and the like - basically the same things InterES have been selling for decades.

It'll be quite interesting to see how things pan out, as Germany are the only major country in which Milan's quest to copyright their logo has hit a major snag.