Zayn Malik trademark application hints at post One Direction future

Zayn Malik, a former member of boy band One Direction, has applied to trademark the term ‘Zaughty’, possibly suggesting a collaboration with Naughty Boy, a UK-based DJ.

Malik, who quit the band earlier this year, has been reportedly expected to collaborate with the producer for a number of months.

But his application, filed at the UK Intellectual Property Office, looks to go some way towards confirming the rumours.

Filed on June 12, the application cites a range of goods and services including recording apparatus, clothing and jewellery, as well perhaps slightly less relevant items such as bed and table covers, and curtains.

The name ‘Zaughty’ is a combination of the names Zayn and Naughty.

Naughty Boy, whose real name is Shahid Khan, has previously worked with artists including Tinie Tempah, Ed Sheeran and Rihanna.

Malik quit One Direction in March after enjoying worldwide success with the former five-piece band.

But weeks after announcing he would be leaving One Direction, he was seen with Khan in a recording studio.

Both Malik and Khan have been named as the owners of the applied-for mark.

For now at least, it doesn’t look as if any commercial venture between the pair will reach US shores, as no results for ‘Zaughty’ were revealed following a search on the US Patent and Trademark Office’s trademark database.