"Russian Warship, Go Fuck Yourself" Can Not Be Trademarked by Ukraine, EU Court States

The European Union's General Court in Luxembourg ruled on Wednesday, November 13, that the phrase “Russian warship, go fuck yourself” cannot be registered as a trademark.

The phrase became a symbol of resistance after the event that took place during the attack on Snake Island (Zmiinyi Island) at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The "Russian warship" involved in the event was the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the missile cruiser Moskva, and the author of the phrase was Ukrainian border guard Roman Hrybov.

The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine has registered the trademark for "Russian warship" in Ukraine but was not able to do so in the EU. The EU Intellectual Property Office rejected the application, citing that the phrase is political rather than commercial in nature. The State Border Guard Service appealed the decision, but the EU General Court has upheld the ruling.

"Of course, it is unfortunate that such a decision was made, but I am convinced that the European Intellectual Property Office and European courts are guided by the rules of the law and we have to accept it. We hope that they will also not allow possible registrations for any other parties,” said the spokesperson for the State Border Service, Colonel Andrii Demchenko, in a commentary to Ukrainska Pravda.