THE Gold Coast Titans may finally be able to prevent their club logo being used by an embattled charity created by Michael Searle.

The National Rugby League is seeking advice on whether it can stop Titans 4 Tomorrow from promoting a logo similar to one used by the Gold Coast rugby league team.

The Gold Coast Bulletin has obtained documents which reveal the trademark registration for the image used by the Titans 4 Tomorrow charity.

FEDERAL POLICE PROBE TITANS CHARITY

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media_camera The Titans 4 Tomorrow logo.

The image of a knight set against a blue background similar to the team’s colours was first registered in 2008 by the Australian Rugby League Commission Limited, according to the documents.

The NRL remains the owner of the image and the image is protected until renewal in April 2018, the documents said.

Mr Searle (pictured), with respected Coast businessman and league identity Paul Broughton, obtained the licence for the NRL team in 2005 before the accountant and former footballer resigned in 2012 after the club faced a financial crisis.

The speculation before Mr Searle resigned was he had some rights to ownership of the club’s intellectual property.

The Gold Coast Titans in August moved to distance themselves from T4T and their board asked Mr Searle to remove the word “Titans” from the charity’s name.

media_camera Michael Searle.

Mr Searle rejected the request and it was ­believed the NRL would need to launch legal action to pursue a change in name.

The documents, obtained by the Bulletin, for the first time, appear to show the NRL would be within its rights to determine how the charity logo was used.

A spokesman for the NRL has confirmed “the NRL is getting advice on the matter”.

Mr Searle recently announced he had begun a new corporate life in the US after resigning from the charity.

The charity’s Southport office was raided by Australian Federal Police in August following a request from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet which has a continuing investigation into T4T. Confidential emails at the time indicated the charity was unable to pay staff and consultants before the raid.

Titans chief executive officer Graham Annesley stressed the club and charity remained “totally separate entities”.

media_camera Gold Coast Titans CEO Graham Annesley.

“Both organisations have their own boards, management, staff, premises and financial accountability,” Mr Annesley said.

“As you would be aware, Gold Coast Titans is 100 per cent owned by the ARLC as managed by the NRL.

“Titans 4 Tomorrow has no ARLC or NRL shareholding whatsoever.”

Mr Annesley confirmed the ARLC, as the documents revealed, owned the intellectual property of the club having registered the words “Gold Coast Titans”.

“In relation to the matter of intellectual property, the ARLC owns the IP of every club in the Telstra Premiership,” he said.

“I am not authorised or in a position to respond on behalf of the commission in relation to the licensing, management, use, or protection of its intellectual property.”