Intellectual property: the figurative sign consisting of the phrase ‘RUSSIAN WARSHIP, GO F* *K yourself’ in Russian and English cannot be registered as an EU trade mark

In its Judgment in Case T-82/24 (Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine v EUIPO) (RUSSIAN WARSHIP, GO F**K YOURSELF) the General Court ruled that the figurative sign consisting of the phrase ‘RUSSIAN WARSHIP, GO F* *K yourself’ in Russian and English cannot be registered as an EU trade mark.

That phrase, which has become a symbol of Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression, is not perceived as an indication of a commercial origin. 

The Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine) requests the General Court of the European Union to annul the decision of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 1 st December 2023, which refused registration of the following figurative sign as an EU trade mark: ‘RUSSIAN WARSHIP, GO F* *K yourself’

That mark is a war cry uttered by the Ukrainian border guard on Snake Island on 24th February 2022, the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Registration was sought for a very wide range of goods as well as for publishing, education, entertainment and sports services. EUIPO refused registration on the ground that the mark is a political slogan devoid of any distinctive character for the goods and services at issue. 

By its judgment, the General Court dismissed the action brought by the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. The Court considers that the phrase used in the mark had been widely used and disseminated by the media, immediately after its first use, in order to rally support for Ukraine and had become very quickly a symbol of Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression. Thus, that phrase was used in a political context, repetitively and with the aim of expressing and promoting support to Ukraine. 

The Court observed that a sign is incapable of fulfilling the essential function of a trade mark if the average consumer does not perceive, in its presence, the indication of the origin of the goods or services, but only a political message. 

However, the phrase in question has been used very intensively in a non-commercial context (Russian aggression) and will necessarily be associated very closely with that context and at this recent historical moment, well known to the average EU consumer. It will therefore not be perceived by the relevant public as an indication of the commercial origin of the goods and services which it designates. (source:curia.europa.eu/photo freepik.com)

Full text of the judgement is available here

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Editorial

Editorial
George Kazoleas, Lawyer

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