Trade mark for ‘Wagatha Christie’ scandal

The ‘Wagatha Christie’ scandal hit headlines in 2019 when Colleen Rooney publicly accused Rebekah Vardy of leaking her personal stories to the media. Now it is being reported that Rebekah Vardy has trade marked the phrase ‘Wagatha Christie’.

What is the ‘Wagatha Christie’ case?

‘Wagatha Christie’ was the name given to the Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney dispute in 2019 when Ms Rooney accused Ms Vardy of leaking her private Instagram account to The Sun. It was the ‘sleuthing’ actions taken by the ‘WAG’ Ms Rooney to confirm her suspicions of who might be ‘responsible’ for her personal data being leaked that led to this name appearing and being used in the press.

The resultant 2020 case brought by Ms Vardy against Ms Rooney for defamation decided in Ms Rooney’s favour in May 2022, dismissing Ms. Vardy’s claim on the basis that the complained of statements were substantially true.

Now it seems Ms Vardy has trade marked the term made famous by the case.

Should Rebekah Vardy have been allowed to trade mark ‘Wagatha Christie’?

When seeking to obtain a trade mark registration there is a presumption that you own the trade mark in question before you apply for it, or that you have a bona fide intention to use it. However, Ms Vardy did not originate the phrase ‘Wagatha Christie’.

The purpose of registration is not to gain you this ownership so that you can then enforce against others when seeking to prevent their use, nor is it to obtain a fee from them for their use. Should this occur, the validity of any obtained registration will be open to scrutiny and risk cancellation.

As the registered rights date to 22 August 2022, no action can be taken against third party use of ‘Wagatha Christie’ from a trade mark infringement perspective, if such use occurred before this date or if such use is a continuation of such earlier use. Should the use be shown to be descriptive use rather than trade mark use allegations of trade mark infringement will also fail.  

How do you obtain a trade mark?

To obtain a UK trade mark registration, an application must be lodged with the UKIPO and if no objections are encountered during examination or during the opposition period, registration will follow.

The presently trending UK trade mark registration for ‘Wagatha Christie’ (UK00003895558) [along with the 2 classes remaining in the original application UK00003822552 still under opposition] can be found online.

To find out the true value of trade mark protection and how it can support your business get in touch with our Trade Marks & Branding Team to set the ball rolling.