On 25 January the Windrush Foundation, a charity dedicated to celebrating the heritage of African-Caribbean people, lost its trade mark dispute against the UK government.
The dispute arose after the charity applied for six trademarks, all of which were variations of the word ‘Windrush’, such as ‘Windrush Day’ and ‘Windrush70’. These applications were opposed by the Government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the basis that they were applied for in bad faith and with the objective of preventing the UK Government and other parties from referring to the Windrush Caribbean people in a manner which it did not agree with.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities ultimately won the dispute, with the judge stating that anyone should be able to utilise the Windrush name as it refers to a historical event which individuals should be permitted to commemorate.
The Windrush Foundation was required to pay £3,800 towards the cost of the opponent’s proceedings.
If you have any questions relating to the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniels Law on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.
