Forced name change spells a year of misery for fitness athletes

In late 2024, the student fitness club Obelix registered the domain name Obelix.fit for its new website. Around the same time, the committee invited its 130 members to the annual New Year’s Day dive on Instagram. One post featured a photo of the character Obelix swimming, while another featured a GIF of him dancing.

The young club had no idea what it was getting itself into. Since its foundation in 2016, the club’s name has been cherished as a matter of course. The association with the burly – “but certainly not fat” – Gaul makes sense. However, the new website and Instagram posts have apparently stirred up a hornet’s nest.

Logo with plaits
In January 2025, the board of the student sports club got a letter from a Belgian lawyer. He represented Les Editions Albert René, the publishing house holding all rights to the Asterix & Obelix comic strip and the work of the late artist Uderzo.

The association is alleged to have infringed copyright and trademark law. The letter ordered it to change the website’s domain name, alter the association’s name to something that does not resemble Obelix, and remove all of its social media accounts.

They also had to alter their logo, which featured a skull with the helmet and braids of the comic strip character. The lawyer set a deadline for each action, with a penalty of 1,000 euros per infringement.

Apology and promise
In disbelief, the board sought legal advice from lawyer friends, who said that, as a non-profit organisation, the association was probably allowed to call itself Obelix. However, they did make a mistake with the posts. The board attempted to smooth things over with an apology and a promise to do better next time, but it came to nothing. The lawyer stood firm: the posts had to be removed, and the association had to choose a different name.

Several people told the association they might be able to challenge those demands in court, arguing they might not be proportionate, but the prospect of a legal battle with a financially powerful opponent was hardly appealing.

So, in March 2025, they decided to adopt the neutral name Studenten Krachtsport Vereniging Utrecht, abbreviated to SKVU, temporarily, while searching for a new name and logo.

Old merchandise
Many members felt blindsided. They resisted the name change and refused to accept that this was truly necessary. It would take a long time and much explanation before most members came to terms with the situation to some extent, but their irritation never disappeared completely. Older members were particularly keen on wearing merchandise featuring the old logos. They consider the name part of the association’s identity.

In May, the association held a general meeting and ultimately decided on the name SKVU Mammoet. Members were invited to submit suggestions via Google Forms and then vote on the top three names during the meeting. Just to be sure, they ran a quick check to see if a construction company from Oldenzaal, also called Mammoet, might cause any issues. But that was not the case.

Then, they had to come up with a new logo. Members could submit suggestions for this as well, but the process didn't go smoothly. A design made by a creative agency was rejected. Then a member caused a stir by creating a logo with AI, prompting other members to question whether graphic designers are taken seriously these days. The association ultimately asked a professional designer to work on the idea proposed by the member (without AI): a mammoth holding a barbell. And that's the logo they're sporting these days.

The new name and logo were launched in July. SKVU Mammoet presented itself to the university community with that name for the first time at the UIT Sports fair, during the introduction week. That was also the moment they changed the board. The leaving board, which had worked tirelessly on all the changes, talking to lawyers for months, finally handed over the reins.

Legal formalities
Shortly afterwards, DUB asked the association about the name change and was told this remarkable story. However, SKVU Mammoet was reluctant to make it public. After consulting with lawyers, we decided to hold the article until everything has been finalised.

At the time, the board was still busy with all the amendments. The new name had to be registered with the solicitor by 1 October at the latest, but the solicitor discovered outstanding issues in the articles of association. Since the association is adopting new articles anyway, it would be better to also review the new Management and Supervision Act, which requires associations to amend their articles of association by 1 July 2026 at the latest. The estimate is that it will take at least 3 to 4 months for all this to be approved by the members.

The Belgian law firm took pity on them and granted a postponement. The registration of SKVU Mammoet with the Chamber of Commerce was finally in order on 10 December 2025. A huge relief, as there had been heated debates at three General Meetings regarding the amendments to the articles of association, and the board had been sent back to the solicitor several times with critical questions. Two-thirds of the members had to be present at a General Meeting for amendments to be passed.

The final cost of the process amounts to 1,700 euros. Fortunately, the association still has some reserves and can apply for a grant from the Sports Council.

Exhausting and intense
DUB got in touch again earlier this year. The board could be more open about matters, although its chair, Sanne Somer, remained cautious. The correspondence with the lawyers is considered confidential, so DUB is not allowed to read it. This article is primarily based on her information and recollections.

DUB asked the law firm AWA why it put such pressure on a small student sports club, to no avail. The firm requested that DUB send questions via email, but we were later told that AWA couldn't answer. They argue that there is a confidentiality agreement between their client and SKVU Obelix. “For this reason, we cannot provide any further details.” 

Looking back, Sanne describes the whole process as “very tiring and intense”. Last year, she had to devote a great deal of her free time to study the articles of association, talk to lawyers and solicitors, organise one general meeting after another, and communicate with the members.

“It was already a pretty tough situation for the previous board, especially considering two board members dropped out. We carried on with the new board, but, as you can imagine, this is not the sort of thing you want to get involved with when you join an association’s board.”

Stunned
Like almost all members, Somer is still a bit stunned and even a little angry at the intimidating way the club has been treated. “We’re such a small club. Perhaps we didn’t do something quite right. But wouldn’t a gentle reprimand have been enough? With our name gone, we’ve also lost part of our identity. Now we have to rebuild that from scratch.” That includes a new website: Mammoet.fit.

The Celtic study association at Utrecht University is also called Asterix — a name they have held for 25 years. They have never had any problems, according to former board member Hannah Aantjes.

However, their situation may differ slightly from that of the fitness club. For instance, Asterix's logo bears no resemblance whatsoever to the little Gallic character, although the fuss surrounding Obelix made them “pause and reflect for a moment”, says Aantjes. “We were already aware that we shouldn’t post images of the comic character on our social media. But we’re even more vigilant now.”

In Nijmegen, there is a student rugby club called Obelix. The club’s board states that it has held a licence from the publisher for decades, permitting it to use the name and have a logo featuring Obelix carrying a rugby ball on his back instead of a menhir.