The EU court did not allow Ukraine to register the trademark “F*ck you, Russian warship”

The Court of General Jurisdiction of the EU did not allow Ukraine to register the TM "F*ck you, Russian warship" as a trademark on the territory of the European Union.

This was reported by the press service of the court.

As early as 2022, the State Border Service of Ukraine tried to register the trademark for a wide range of goods and services (printed products, umbrellas, clothes, keychains, etc.).

The European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) refused the registration on December 1, 2023, and the European Court of Justice upheld this decision.

He explained that the phrase has become a well-known political slogan and a symbol of Ukraineʼs struggle against Russian aggression. It is used mainly in a political, not a commercial, context.

The court noted that a sign cannot perform the primary function of a trademark if consumers see in it only a political message and not an indication of the origin of goods or services.

• On February 24, 2022, the Russian cruiser "Moskva" together with the patrol ship "Vasyl Bykov" approached the Ukrainian island of the Snake Island and issued an ultimatum to the Ukrainian border guards, using the phrase "I am a Russian warship" for identification. After the Russians twice conveyed the demand to lay down their arms, threatening to bombard them, one of the Ukrainian border guards responded to them with the phrase "F*ck you, Russian warship", which then became winged.

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