St Andrews Links Trust loses out in legal bid to trademark town name.

EU board rejects attempt to stake claim to travel, accommodation and catering service

Golf course bosses have lost a legal battle over the rights to the name St Andrews.

The operators of the famous Old Course, known as the Home of Golf, wanted to register the Fife town’s name as a trademark for travel, accommodation and catering services.

St Andrews Links Trust already owns exclusive rights to the name in relation to a number of goods including golf equipment, jewellery, clothing and kitchen utensils.

It wanted to extend its ownership to further protect the brand and stop other companies around the world using it.

However, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) said the name of a town could not be trademarked for the services applied for.

St Andrew Links argued that customers would think of their courses when they saw the name but trademarks experts said they could associate the goods with the town rather than golf.

In their written ruling, the EUIPO said: “There is nothing to indicate that the relevant public, when confronted with the term ‘ST ANDREWS’ would associate this indication exclusively or even predominantly with the applicant.

“It is not by no means excluded that town ‘ST ANDREWS’ will be visited also by persons who do not have intention to play golf but want to explore the town, its landmarks and surroundings.

“The connection between the name of the place and the goods and services may enable the relevant public to perceive the contested sign as an indication of the origin of those goods and services.

“In the present case, such a link clearly exists in view of the fact that ‘ST ANDREWS’ is a well-known town due to the reputation of its golf-sport facilities and the oldest university in Scotland.

“The mark applied for must be refused registration since it is reasonable to believe that it will actually be recognised by the relevant class of persons as a description of the characteristics of those goods and services, namely their subject origin.”

The decision was handed down by the EUIPO’s appeal board last month after the initial application was refused in September.

The application was made by the commercial arm of St Andrews Links, which operates seven golf courses in the town which are owned by Fife Council.

In 2018 it lost a similar battle after the EU General Court rejected a bid to register the name for conferences and books.

A spokesman for St Andrews Links Trust said: “As one of the world’s most famous and renowned sporting venues, St Andrews Links is the owner of numerous registrations for the mark, St Andrews, across a wide variety of product and service categories.

“This includes numerous registrations issued by EUIPO.

“St Andrews Links invests in protecting its brands and reputation globally for the benefit of the Links, its partners, and the many stakeholders who share in our commitment to protecting the reputation and renown of St Andrews as the Home of Golf.” matter or their geographical

Operators of the Old Course were behind the application to the EU Intellectual Property Office.