Ahead of their 2025 tour, Oasis have recently filled UK trade mark applications for their Oasis and Oasis Live ’25 logos, displayed below:

The trade mark applications seek protection of a vast array of goods and services, including the following examples:

• 9 – music recordings, photographic and cinematographic content;
• 14 – jewellery;
• 16 – record sleeves, books and photographs;
• 21 – household and kitchen utensils;
• 24 – textiles;
• 25 – clothing, footwear and headgear;
• 28 – games and toys;
• 35 – advertising, marketing, promotion; and
• 41 – entertainment and leisure services.

Some of the quirkier goods and services include accessories for telephones in class 9; garlic presses, shoe horns and dental floss in class 21; and retail services in connection with various products, from walking sticks to Christmas trees, in class 35. It is highly doubtful Oasis will ever use their logos to sell all these products.

So, what’s the story?

The broadly drafted specification appears to be an attempt to deter counterfeit merchandisers from selling products displaying the Oasis logos.

This is known to be a common issue when popular musicians go on tour, as third parties try to profit from their goodwill. In January 2023, the Daily Mail reported a woman was ordered to pay back £140,000 after selling unlicensed merchandise of bands including Foo Fighters, The Stone Roses and Led Zeppelin on eBay. The court found that she had made £250,000 in profit over a three-year period. In addition to the fine, she had to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and 10 days in rehabilitation. Failure to pay could have also resulted in a prison sentence.

In the same month, Metro reported the One Direction star, Harry Styles had filed legal action against specific sites pretending to sell his official merchandise online which shows the prevalence of counterfeit merchandise.

But, can you apply for a trade mark for things you have no intention of selling or licensing?

The short answer is no.

When you apply for a UK trade mark, you make a declaration expressing a bone fide intention to use the mark in relation to all the goods and services you have applied for.

Whilst counterfeiting is a huge concern for musicians, trade mark law does not allow anti-competitive practices. Trade marks must be used in order to remain valid and enforceable – unlike patents, which can remain in force for their full term of protection irrespective of the applicant’s intended or actual use of the patent.

This is fair because a registered trade mark is a powerful monopoly right which can live forever, as long as it is continually renewed every 10 years. If you were to file a trade mark simply to stop others from using it in relation to certain goods or services, you would be filing the application in bad faith, which is an absolute ground of refusal which would make the mark invalid in relation to those particular goods or services. If your application is successful, your registered trade mark can also face the risk of revocation in relation to the goods and services it covers which have not been offered under the mark within a 5 year period.

Turning back to Oasis, it seems many of the goods and services they have sought to protect are things they may not have an intention to ever sell or license, and is simply acting as a deterrent against counterfeiters. However, there are other ways to tackle counterfeiters which are more compatible with IP law, such as relying on passing off, or trade mark infringement claims under section 10(3) of the Trade Mark Act 1994.

What should I do if I want to file a trade mark?

IP rights operate on a “first come, first served” basis, so it is important to ensure that you submit a trade mark application as soon as practicable, in order to benefit from the exclusive right to use, licence, franchise or sell the mark. However, drafting the specification of goods and/or services is critical and should only cover what you intend to use the mark for now and in the next 5 years.

Our team of IP experts are able to file trade mark applications for you, including the all-important first step, which is to conduct a thorough clearance search before filing the application to assess whether any third parties have prior rights which could be used to challenge your application, and whether the IPO would object to your application on absolute grounds (such as descriptiveness). This due diligence is crucial if you want to avoid bumping into unexpected legal issues and incurring increased costs further down the line – in general, prevention is better than cure.