12 December 2023

It’s… Rebekah Vardy’s intellectual property.

The defamation case that engulfed the nation has recently hit headlines again, with the release of Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story on Disney+.  Whether you believe the case was “the most ill-advised defamation case” since Wilde v Queensberry (per The Atlantic journalist Helen Lewis), or you found yourself oddly captivated by the matter, one thing is for certain – the term “Wagatha Christie” became part of the public vernacular of the UK overnight.  And Rebekah Vardy owns it.

By way of background, in 2019, Coleen Rooney, the wife of football player Wayne Rooney, began to suspect that someone was leaking information from her private Instagram account to the UK tabloids, after stories about her were published including information she had not herself made public.  Taking on the role of private detective, Rooney suspected fellow WAG (that is “Wives And Girlfriends” of football players) Rebekah Vardy as the source of the leak – Vardy being the wife of footballer Jamie Vardy.  Rooney then tested her theory, publishing a series of fake stories on her Instagram, restricting the viewer to Rebekah Vardy, and noting that these stories were still getting to the press.  On Twitter (now X), Rooney published this suspicion, ending the post with the now iconic catchphrase “It’s… Rebekah Vardy’s account”.  Comedian and journalist Dan Atkinson then tweeted “Coleen Rooney: Wagatha Christie”, going almost instantly viral.

However, it did not end there.  Rebekah Vardy, denying she was the source of the leaks, took legal action, raising a libel action in the English High Court in June 2020.  Vardy v Rooney ticked along for two years, with Mrs Justice Steyn finally ruling in Rooney’s favour in June 2022.  Vardy was ordered to pay 90% of Rooney’s legal costs, estimated to be in the region of £1.5 million.  Including her own legal costs it is likely that Vardy is currently facing a minimum £3 million legal bill, which might explain some recent developments in the world of intellectual property.

According to The Guardian Vardy, via the company London Entertainment Inc Ltd, has now registered a trade mark for the phrase "Wagatha Christie” in the UK in respect of a number of different types of goods and services. A second application to expand the scope of the Wagatha Christie mark has been opposed and a further application - this time for the shortened “Wagatha” – has been filed.  It has also been said that Vardy is allegedly now considering trade mark applications outside the UK to further protect her intellectual property.  It has been suggested that Vardy may have secured a lucrative future from this phrase, enabling her to manufacture and sell a wide range of “Wagatha Christie” memorabilia and merchandise.  Given the popularity of the case, these sales could quickly add up.  It was reported that a stylist sold £50,000 worth of “Wagatha Christie” t-shirts in 24 hours during the initial Twitter storm.

What does this mean for Dan Atkinson, the originator of the phrase?  Or indeed, for “Wagatha Christie” herself, Coleen Rooney?  Under UK intellectual property law, it is not necessary to be the creator of a product or content to apply for and own a trade mark.  However, the success of the application may be affected by which party has a better ‘right’ to use the phrase.

On one view, then, registering a trade mark can be likened to a race, which any party can enter.  While one can seek to challenge a trade mark application on the basis that an earlier right to the mark exists whether registered or not, the window for doing so is very slim (2 months for opposition with the option to seek to extend for a further 1 month).

It is worth noting however that there are also options to legally challenge a trade mark once it is registered.  These grounds include (1) non-use; (2) the trade mark becoming “generic”; (3) the use of the trade mark is likely to mislead the public; (4) pre-existing rights; and (5) non-distinct character of the mark.

It will be interesting to following the progress of Rebekah Vardy’s remaining applications.  In the meantime, Dan Atkinson will have to settle with the knowledge that whilst he may not own the trade mark, he has the Twitter timestamp to prove his creativity and can enjoy being responsible for coining a phrase that went viral.  As for Coleen Rooney – if the new documentary is anything to go by, she is doing just fine.

Sian Keddie, Trainee Solicitor: ske@bto.co.uk / 0131 222 2939

Lynn Richmond, Partner & Accredited Specialist in Intellectual Property: lyr@bto.co.uk / 0131 222 2939