This year marks 150 years that UK trademarks have been in existence.
Before The Trade Marks Registration Act 1875 came into force, companies struggled to prove ownership of their products and would be in a constant battle with competitors who were trying to copy their logos for their own gain. With the advent of a secure trademark registration, businesses were able to assert their brand identity and stand out from rogue traders.
The very first company to register a UK trademark was Bass Brewery which filed its trademark application on 01 January 1876. Its iconic red triangle logo for Bass & Co Pale Ale was allocated trademark number UK00000000001:
https://trademarks.ipo.gov.uk/ipo-tmcase/page/Results/1/UK00000000001
150 years later the trademark is still active and has not been altered from the original logo. This is surely testament to the longevity of a trademark that is as relevant today as it was well over a century ago.
Although many of the original UK registered trademarks dating back to the late 1800s have now been abandoned (no surprise) there are some companies whose products that have endured in the marketplace even to this day. Examples of common household names that are still selling and thriving today are Colman’s Mustard and Lyle’s Golden Syrup (whose trademark began life back in 1912).
Over recent years, despite huge advances in mechanisation, the dominance of high-tech and the fast pace of life, there has been a move towards brands re-marketing their image to consumers with a desire to appeal to a nostalgic, gentler time.
Many companies have chosen to re-brand and adopt their original logos, often from decades ago. One such case is Boots the Chemist. Founded in 1849 in Nottingham, England it began trading as a small herbalist shop.
Boots has grown to become a major UK pharmacy chain and health and beauty retailer. Although the iconic Boots logo has been updated over the decades, the current logo design is definitely a nod to the familiar, scripted symbol from a bygone era. This again proves the power that a trademark logo can have on a product or service that becomes synonymous with quality and reliability.
Talking of brands that have outlasted their contemporaries, the soft drink maker Robinsons features strongly here. The original Robinsons Barley Water drink originated from the 1930s. Created by Mr Eric Smedley Hodgson, the drink contained patent barley crystals and was given out to tennis players at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships in 1935.
The Wimbledon fixture for Robinsons continued right up until 2022 and there are probably many people who still associate the iconic barley water bottles sitting on the umpire’s steps when they watch a tennis match.
Another name synonymous with the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club is Slazenger. This sports equipment brand became the official supplier of tennis balls for Wimbledon as early as 1902 and the partnership continues to this day.
So when it comes to trademark your product or service you can always hope that it will continue to make an impact even 100 years from now.
It is fitting that the International Trademark Association (https://www.inta.org/) is having its annual meeting in London this year, 150 years after Bass registered UK00000000001.
The INTA meeting normally attracts over 10,000 professionals from around the world and is the major annual event in the world of trademarks.
Our attorneys will of course be attending the meeting and will be sure to try to find a pint of Bass to commemorate the occasion.
Cheers to trademarks!
