Trademark Talk: Keep calm and register?

United Kingdom

Dominic Farnsworth and Nick Walker consider the arguments around whether a slogan can be awarded trademark protection

The recent battle for control of the slogan ‘Keep Calm and Carry On' has sparked great media interest. This wartime slogan was coined in 1939 by Sir Percival Waterfield, the then deputy director of the Ministry of Information. It was initially written and intended for the radio broadcast which was the subject of this year's blockbuster ‘The King's Speech'. Many posters featuring the slogan were printed, but these had not been widely distributed when the government had second thoughts about the likely public reaction. The government felt that such a message might be resented by the British people who were evidently capable of displaying remarkable stoicism without the need for such a reminder. The idea was shelved.