"No EU Protection for Ukrainian Defiance Phrase"

The Ukrainian resistance phrase "Russian warships, go to hell" cannot be trademarked in the EU, states the EU court in an expected ruling.

Ukraine's border troops have wanted to protect the phrase, which was uttered by soldiers on Snake Island in February 2022 as a response to a Russian attack.

The EU court, however, believes that since the phrase is primarily perceived as a political message, rather than being linked to a product or service, it does not meet the basic requirement for a trademark.

Ukraine has already previously been denied registration by the EU authority EUIPO.