Ask a random person in the street to give you an example of a trademark and they might well come up with a logo or slogan. McDonald's is one example of a brand where the yellow arches and "I'm Lovin' It" jingle are lodged equally deeply in the collective consciousness.

However, it's not just logos and slogans that can be trademarked. You can trademark a shape too. Take the example of Toblerone, whose manufacturer sued Poundland for its copycat "Twin Peaks" bar. You could probably recognise a Toblerone in silhouette, so the case for its shape being central to its identity isn't too hard to make.

Celebrities have trademarked catchphrases – from John McEnroe's "you cannot be serious" to Taylor Swift's lyric "this sick beat". Swift's legal team went so far as to send cease-and-desist letters to traders on Etsy who were selling merchandise featuring her likeness.

Sometimes trademark disputes raise the issue of cultural appropriation as with Disney's trademarking of the Swahili phrase "Hakuna Matata", or the Florida chain that tried to trademark the Fijian greeting "Bula". This latter move was described by the Fiji government as a "blatant case of heritage-hijacking".

In this article, we take a look at 10 surprising trademark disputes.

1. Mother Theresa's sari

You can't trademark humility, compassion or good deeds. But Mother Theresa's order the Missionaries of Charity copyrighted the blue and white striped pattern on her sari in 2016.

They argued that people were falsely raising funds in Theresa's name and that trademarking her sari would help crack down on such dirty dealing.

2. The Welsh word for "love"

The candle maker Fizzy Foam successfully trademarked "cariad", the Welsh word for love, along with "hiraeth" – a word that loosely translates as "deep longing".

Obviously, this doesn't mean that anyone speaking of the hiraeth they're feeling that day will get slapped with a fine. But it does mean that other candle makers can't use those words for branding – even though others, such as the firm Gweni, already do.

3. The colour purple

No, not Prince's outfits or Alice Walker's novel, but the famous purple wrapper on Cadbury's chocolate bars.

This is an ongoing battle for Cadbury, which believes the purpleness of its wrappers is key to its brand identity. In 2012 it won against Nestle, which then mounted a successful appeal.

At the time of writing, Cadbury is locked in a dispute with Primal Pantry, whose lilac-wrapped Milka bars are seen as stepping on Cadbury's purple toes.

4. Grumpy Cat-fight

In the age of memes, a cat with a grumpy expression can earn you a lot of money.

In 2013 US coffee company Grenade struck a $150,000 deal with the real Grumpy Cat's owner to use its expression for "Grumppuccino" iced drinks. However, the coffee brand took liberties and sold other products with its image – and ended up having to give Grumpy Cat's owners $710,000.

5. Usain Bolt

Being recognised in silhouette is one sign that you're super famous – think of Homer Simpson, for example.

Usain Bolt's signature victory celebration pose definitely falls into this category – and, after his retirement, he sought to give it legal protection as he turned his attention to signature clothing, jewellery, shoes, restaurants and sports bars.

6. The Queen(s) of Christmas

Mariah Carey has some claim to being the Queen of Christmas – her 1994 album Merry Christmas is one of the best-selling festive records of all time, and its hit single "All I Want for Christmas is You" is a Yuletide staple.

But when she tried to trademark her honorific she was met with opposition from not one but two rival monarchs.

Darlene Love recorded "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" in 1963 and was later unofficially crowned the Queen of Christmas by David Letterman.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Chan, who performs nothing but Christmas music, filed a complaint. She told Variety: "I feel very strongly that no one person should hold onto anything around Christmas or monopolise it in the way that Mariah seeks to in perpetuity".

The dispute has yet to be resolved.

7. Ringo Starr and the Ring-O

Ringo Starr was none too pleased when an adult toy called "the Ring O" appeared on the market. It would, he said, tarnish his name and lead people to think it was official merchandise.

Starr came to an arrangement with the manufacturers and dropped the case. It remains to be seen whether he will mount a similar challenge against the Ringo mop wringer.

8. The Ring Ding/Ding Dong conflict

Ding Dong chocolate cakes had a legal ding dong with Ring Dings. It has more twists and turns than a spy thriller. You can read about it here.

9. Coachella vs Couch-ella

In July 2020, lawyers for the US music festival Coachella asked a Hertfordshire charity to rename its online event, which was dubbed "Couch-ella". The "chella" suffix, they argued, was trademarked – and the small charity chose not to put up a fight.

Honestly, it seems unlikely that someone attending Couch-ella would think they were in the Colorado Desert. But such is the power of trademarks.

As the charity's executive said: "Half of me thought, 'shall we take them head-on?', but in reality when lawyers get involved it costs a lot and we didn't want to waste any of the charity's money."

10. Joe Lycett vs Hugo Boss

Comedian Joe Lycett changed his name by deed poll to "Hugo Boss" after the company sent numerous cease-and-desist letters to small businesses and charities with "boss" in their names.

The fashion brand tried to spin the prank in its favour by welcoming Joe Lycett into the Hugo Boss family.

Do you need advice on how best to protect your intellectual property? At Milners Law, we pride ourselves on being approachable, plain-speaking and experts in commercial law. Don't hesitate to contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation.