Since England got to the World Cup quarter finals on Saturday, World Cup fever has hit the nation summed up by a 1996 song ‘It’s coming home’. The lyric may have been premature, but the feverish renditions in 2018 led a gift shop to file a trademark, number UK00003323129. Used in the chorus of a popular 1996 single by English comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner, under the name of The Lightning Seeds, the phrase has captured the spirit of 2018. The song is on course to top the music charts this weekend, but was also sung by the victorious Euros '96 Germany team, somewhat to the confusion of their fans according to Germany's then captain Jürgen Klinsmann. A British gift company has seized the opportunity to make money from the phrase by seeking registered trademark protection for use on clothing, which the firm did first thing after England secured tonight’s semi-final spot. UK-based FatCuckoo filed a trademark application at the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) for the term ‘it’s coming home’ after the quarter-final win.

Cat among the pigeons

The application is in class 25 for items including headwear, footwear, aprons, and T-shirts. The status history shows the filing was received on 8 July 2018, and currently has the status of ‘examination.’ If the trademark application reaches registration then in theory FatCuckoo  would be putting a cat amongst the pigeons in Trafalgar Square by stopping the sale of clothing items using the phrase in the UK. Whether Mr Baddiel and Mr Skinner will see the funny side is unreported, but one assumes there will be opposition when the application reaches publication. The status can be checked here.