MIKE Ashley is taking legal action to regain control of Rangers' lucrative name, trademarks, crests and badges it has been confirmed.
The move is part of the Sports Direct founder's long running courtroom war with Rangers and its chairman Dave King.
His legal bid for the licensing of the intellectual property rights forms part of an action lodged at the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice where Mr Ashley aims to sue the club for up to £1 million.
It comes after the club withdrew the exclusive rights from possession of the Sports Direct-controlled Rangers Retail in May. Until then, Mr Ashley's Rangers Retail held the licence to exploit club-related trademarks and logos including the club name, Ibrox, The Gers, the famous RFC Scroll crest and the Ready logo.
Rangers Retail was unveiled in 2012 as a merchandising joint venture between Rangers FC and Mike Ashley's Sports Direct by then chief executive Charles Green.
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Its aim was to enable Rangers "to once again control its retail operation and give supporters the chance to buy direct from the club and in doing so, continue to invest in its future".
But the Ibrox board which had voiced its displeasure about its return from the deal with Rangers Retail withdrew its exclusive licence to exploit the club's name and trademarks.
In the new claim which which names Rangers, Mr King and Rangers director Paul Murray, Mr Ashley's Sports Direct say they were given insufficient notice to cancel the intellectual property rights agreement.
And it has been confirmed that Ashley and Sports Direct will argue in the High Court that the intellectual property rights licence should remain in full force with initial proceedings scheduled for December 1 and 2.
One fans group source said: "I hope the board fight this all the way. It is long past time that supporters were able to spend their money on Rangers merchandise and know that the club with get the money."
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When Rangers in May withdrew the exclusive licensing rights it was believed that meant kit which contained the protected logos could not be sold.
But in August, Puma joined the likes of Mike Ashley's Sports Direct, JD Sports and Intersport to start selling the new season Rangers kit.
And Puma, after taking legal advice, insisted they had a legal right to sell and market the kit under the terms of their five-year kit deal agreed in 2013.
When the kit deal was announced, Rangers said it made the sportswear giant "the official supplier and licensee of replica merchandise for the club" in a deal that complimented Rangers Retail, which was set up under a previous Ibrox management.
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Rangers has previously threatened to ditch the controversial Puma strip released without their consent and replace it with a new kit midway through the season.
The club has written to Rangers Retail Limited and Sports Direct asking them to "cease and desist" over the sales.
In August, after withdrawing the intellectual property rights, Rangers announced they were to make a new damages claim worth £1 million amid claims Rangers Retail had breached an agreement over the use of its trademarks.
It was understood the claim centred on how the merchandising body was being run before the club regained legal ownership of its precious trademarks.
The Rangers Retail agreement with Ashley, who is also the Newcastle United owner and has a near 9% share in Rangers, has been a long-lasting area of controversy and it allegedly meant that the club earned about 4p in every pound spent on Rangers merchandise.
Fans groups have previously called for a boycott of club’s merchandise over the joint venture.
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At the end of 2014 it launched an alternative shirt for fans as they took on Mr Ashley - and said all profits would be ploughed back into an increased shareholding in their club.
The previous 10-year licence agreement with sports retailer JJB Sports rubber stamped in 2006, was worth a minimum of £48 million to the club. The club got an initial payment of £18 million when they launched an Umbro home kit and were guaranteed a minimum annual royalty of £3 million in each year of the licence.
In the latest annual report, Mr King said that the club received a share of income from Rangers Retail in the year to June, 2016 of £100,000. The merchandising joint-venture had made a pre-tax profity of £1.22 million in the year to April, 2016.
The board has recognised the effect the impasse over Rangers Retail was having on the club and said that they "did not possess the ability to govern the financial and operating policies" of the joint venture and "therefore does not control the entity".
The board said: "With the continued lack of control over our retail activities, the club’s cash flows remain adversely affected by the profitability of Rangers Retail.
"Retail should be a thriving area for the club.... Ensuring that the club once again has a significantly profitable retail division is a key priority for the board.
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