Vera Lynn wins in cockney rhyming slang legal battle

DAME VERA LYNN has won a legal battle against a gin company after it was decided that she was better known as a singer than for her place in cockney rhyming slang.

The 102-year-old “Forces’ Sweetheart” called in lawyers after Halewood International applied to trademark “Vera Lynn” for a new product.

Vera Lynn is traditionally used by Londoners to denote gin, but the We’ll Meet Again and White Cliffs Of Dover singer, who does not drink the spirit, was said to be “very upset” at the move.

She said she had been using her own name as an unregistered trademark for music recordings and charity work since 1939 and having it associated with the beverage could create the false impression she had endorsed it.

Dame Vera, who entertained troops in Egypt, India, and Burma during the Second World War, accused Liverpool based Halewood of trying to exploit her “good name and reputation” to generate sales.

The drinks firm argued that there would be no confusion as Dame Vera was not associated with alcohol sales and said younger customers would only know her name as rhyming slang.

However, the UK Intellectual Property Office has found in Dame Vera’s favour. In a written ruling, trademark hearing officer Al Skilton said: “The evidence falls a long way short of showing that the relevant public for alcoholic beverages will, on encountering ‘Vera Lynn’, see it as a rhyming slang reference for gin, rather than bringing to mind the entertainer Vera Lynn.”

Halewood was ordered to pay £1,800 towards Dame Vera’s costs in the case.