The government’s TT licensing policy is under review - after it found itself in yet another TT trademark row.

Officers from the Department of Economic Development visited Manx Crafter Gifts’ shop on King Street shop in Douglas to insist that items using the TT logo were removed.

Crafter Viv Edge posted on social media: ’Bloody DED, they had a report that someone was using the TT logo in Manx Crafters Gifts and visited the shop to have them removed. I actually can’t see how describing a picture of the TT course as just that can be breaching their trademark but hey ho!

’They also took umbrage at our plaques, "Sleeps to the fanTasTic races", but will "let it go" th?

’I can’t believe someone has gone out of their way to report small crafters!’

Ms Edge said the crafters could buy a licence to use the TT logo but at ’crazy prices we can’t quite stretch to’. She claimed: ’It’s £250 per category, so if we do plaques, cards, vests, frames, etc etc it’s that amount per category. We don’t make enough to pay that!’

The DED confirmed its licensing policy is currently under review, with ’special consideration’ being given to charitable causes who might wish to use the TT brand.

Political member for DED Rob Callister MHK said the department had to protect its revenue streams, and the TT brand generated £2.6m.

He said Manx-registered charities would not be charged for using the TT logo and the department would not be pursuing tea rooms and other businesses providing services that use the TT name.

In a statement, the DED said: ’The department has a duty to protect the brand of the Isle of Man TT.

’As part of this, the department regularly takes action to inform people who may have breached the TT brand and, in some cases, take further action to ensure commercial goods are licensed accordingly.

’In the case of the Manx Crafters Gift Shop, the department was notified in March there appeared to be use of the brand commercially without a licence. The department visited the shop to discuss the issues raised and the shop was advised certain items were in breach of the trademark and/or word marks.’

The DED said it ’offered advice’ on what can and can’t be used and suggested the Manx Crafters Gift Shop ’may wish’ to get their suppliers to apply for a licence. At no time were any such costs of a relevant licence discussed, it insisted.

The department said it has to strike a balance between protecting the brand and ensuring continued public support.

It said as a public body it has to apply a consistent approach - and if it doesn’t act knowing a breach has occurred, it runs the risk of losing both the brand and any value that it and official licensees can derive from it.

Last month the DED came under fire for charging the RNLI to use the TT logo on its pin badges.

However, the RNLI itself didn’t have a problem with being charged, saying that it had used the TT logo on some of the charity’s pin badges for a number of years and these had been a valuable fundraiser for the charity, with donations from them last year raising more than £5,000.

In January, the DED ended up on collision cause with Bushy’s over the use of the TT letters on the brewery’s t-shirts and stickers.

Bushy’s sought legal advice after it pointed out it had registered "Bushy’s TT" as a trademark in November 2014.

Subsequently, it was announced that agreement has been reached in principle to allow the continued use of the Bushy’s TT trademark under a co-existence agreement.