Rolls-Royce has been crowned the nation’s most iconic trade mark in a public poll marking 150 years since Britain became one of the first countries in the world to formalise the protection of brands, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has announced.
The Goodwood-built marque pipped Radio Caroline, Twinings and Cadbury to the top spot in a survey that drew around 2,000 nominations, with the public asked to choose the brands they felt had most shaped daily life in the UK. Rounding out the top ten were Bass, Burberry, the Transport for London roundel, Calpol, Mini and the BBC, a roll-call that reads less like a marketing list and more like a cultural autobiography of post-war Britain.
The poll coincides with the 150th anniversary of the UK trade mark register, which opened for business on 1 January 1876 following the passage of the Trade Marks Registration Act 1875. The very first mark to be registered, on day one, was the Bass & Co red triangle label, a piece of intellectual property still in use today and still, as one respondent succinctly observed, attached to “good beer”.
For the SME community, the milestone is more than ceremonial. The register now protects more than 2.5 million marks, with around 200,000 fresh applications received in the past year alone, a record-breaking figure that points to the value modern entrepreneurs place on owning their identity in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
More than 400 trade marks filed before 1900 remain live on the register, a remarkable testament to brand longevity. Bovril (1886), Drambuie (1893), Lyle’s Sugar (1887), Bird’s Custard Powder (1891), Rose’s Lime Juice Cordial (1876) and Woodward’s Gripe Water (1876) are all still trading on the goodwill first banked by their Victorian founders. Even Lyle’s Golden Syrup carries with it the gloriously biblical “Out of the Strong Came Forth Sweetness”, registered in 1884 and quietly enduring on supermarket shelves ever since.
Other Victorian filings border on the prophetic. Kodak was registered in 1888, just as mass photography was emerging, while a mark named “Millennium” was filed in January 1892, more than a century before the date it would come to evoke.
Adam Williams, chief executive of the IPO, said the anniversary underscored the role of trade marks as the bedrock of consumer confidence. “Trade marks are the foundation of brand trust. For 150 years, they’ve helped British businesses, from corner shops and market stalls to app stores and global online retailers, build lasting relationships with consumers and stand behind the quality of their products,” he said. “The tens of thousands who register a trade mark each year are making a statement: we’ve built something good, and we’re putting our name to it.”
Tom Reynolds, chief executive of the British Brands Group, described trade marks as “a legal promise” between business and customer. “Some trade marks have become so embedded in our lives that they’ve become shorthand for the thing itself. Think of a tick, a swoosh, or even a silver lady on a car bonnet. Instantly, you know exactly what you’re getting. That’s the power of a trade mark, and it’s the foundation every iconic brand is built on.”
Kelly Saliger, president of the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (CITMA), said the application surge confirmed the UK’s continuing pull as a centre of enterprise. “Brand recognition is a powerful asset, and a registered trade mark protects it, acting as a marker in the sand that warns other businesses to steer clear, and giving the owner the means to take action against those who come too close.”
Rolls-Royce, whose Silver Ghost was officially dubbed “the best car in the world” in 1913, has long since transcended the motor industry. Julian Jenkins, director of sales and brand at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said the result reflected the way the marque had become “a global shorthand for the best of the best in any field”. Matthew Hill, head of intellectual property at Rolls-Royce plc, added that the recognition acknowledged the company’s “continuing commitment to powering, protecting and connecting people everywhere”.
Radio Caroline, the offshore station that sailed into broadcasting history from the North Sea in 1964 and was finally registered as a trade mark in 1992, was second on the list. Station manager Peter Moore said the recognition was “a testament to our past, present and future”, while listeners reminisced about passing O-Levels to its broadcasts.
Twinings, which has traded from the same Strand address since 1706 and registered its mark in 1908, was third. Chief brand officer Heather Hartridge said the logo was “more than just a logo, it is a symbol of the craftsmanship, expertise and care that goes into every blend”.
Cadbury, first traded in 1824 and registered in 1886, was fourth. Equity marketing director Phil Warfield said the brand’s “iconic glass and a half” remained “a promise to our customers for generations”. Ewa Chappell, legal and corporate affairs director at Budweiser Brewing Group UK/Ireland, current custodians of Bass, noted that the original red triangle had been “copied so often that it proved just how powerful the demand for Bass truly was”.
Burberry’s check, born in the trenches of the First World War, made the list alongside the Transport for London roundel, first protected in 1917. TfL customer director Emma Strain said the symbol had “guided Londoners and visitors safely through the capital as a trusted and globally renowned emblem” for more than a century.
Calpol, the small bottle that has soothed generations of feverish children, sat eighth, with one parent describing it simply as “the first thing you reach for at 3am”. Mini, the diminutive motor that defined British car-making from 1959 onwards, was ninth. Head of MINI Jean-Philippe Parain said the brand “continues to stand for timeless design, go-kart handling, and distinctive personality”. The BBC completed the top ten.
When the 1875 Act took effect, applications arrived by post, were entered by hand, and could only protect marks used on physical goods. Today’s register tells a rather different story. Services as well as goods are covered, and registrable marks now include holograms, motion marks, multimedia marks and patterns of light. Applications cover categories that would have bewildered a Victorian clerk, from snack products derived from insects and edible ant larvae to wearable smartphones, humanoid robots, downloadable virtual handbags, and perfumes for use in virtual worlds.
For SMEs, the practical message is that trade mark protection has never been more accessible, or more strategically important. Registration costs a fraction of the goodwill it preserves, lasts for ten years and can be renewed indefinitely, providing the legal armoury to defend brand value as businesses scale.
After 150 years, Britain’s trade mark system has, in the IPO’s own words, “no sign of standing still”. For the small businesses building tomorrow’s iconic brands, that should be a reassuring thought.
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Rolls-Royce tops the list as Britain’s trade mark register turns 150