Woman tells UKIPO to catch up with the times after it rejects ‘queer’ TM
A woman is campaigning for the UK Intellectual Property Office ( IPO) to update its policy after she was denied a trademark which contained the word “queer”.
In a change.org petition started last month, Gem Kennedy, who runs an LGBTQ+ community called Queers & Co, said she believes the group should have the power to name themselves as they choose.
Kennedy sought to trademark the name after the community began to expand. Queers & Co, which initially started as a Facebook group, now publishes a magazine and has plans to create a podcast and networking space in the coming months.
“I was absolutely shocked to learn that the IPO rejected my application, because it contained the word ‘queer’. According to the IPO, queer is ‘offensive’ and ‘contrary to accepted moral values within the UK’,” Kennedy wrote.
She said that while she understands the policy comes from an effort to protect minority communities, LGBTQ+ people have, throughout the ages, “reclaimed words of abuse and used them as words of power; words like ‘fairy’, ‘dyke’ and ‘poof’”.
In its rejection letter, the IPO quoted Ofcom’s definition of queer as "strong language, generally unacceptable. Seen as old-fashioned but also derogatory to gay men when used as an insult”.
But, Kennedy argued that in a separate report, Ofcom stated that “some of these sexual orientation words (like ‘poof’, ‘queer’ and ‘dyke’) were seen as having been reclaimed by the people they were originally intended to insult as expressions of their identity”.
In these circumstances, the words were not considered offensive, the report said.
“It’s time for the IPO to catch up with the times. In recent years, we've seen the rise in popularity of the word queer in the media; think Netflix hit ‘Queer Eye’, the BBC's ‘Queer Britain’, and the hundreds of arts and cultural events that take place in Britain each year using the word 'queer',” Kennedy said.
Other government departments such as Companies House and the Government Equalities Office have recently updated their policies on this issue.
Kennedy said “there is no excuse for the IPO to lag behind”.
In a statement to WIPR, the IPO said: “Trademark registrations can present complex moral challenges for the IPO. We have a legal responsibility to ensure that the trademarks we register do not have the potential to offend.
“We are aware that meanings can evolve over time, however. If an applicant disagrees with the examiner’s decision, we would encourage them to respond directly for the matter to be reconsidered.”
WIPR has contacted Kennedy for comment.
WIPR's Influential Women in IP is a initiative to promote diversity across the IP sector. Join our LinkedIn group and have your say here - open to all.'
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