A famous English university institution is seeking additional trademark protection for its name.
The 632-year-old New College, Oxford is aiming to protect its brand following the creation of the New College of the Humanities.
Philosopher AC Grayling, who has set up the latter, has also filed a trademark application with the UK’s Intellectual Property Office.
And the regulator says a decision on the Oxford trademark bid will be made shortly, reports the BBC.
A spokesperson for the New College of the Humanities said there has been dialogue with New College, Oxford over the trademark issue.
“We don’t think there is any confusion between New College of the Humanities and New College, Oxford, given their great heritage and [our] distinct positioning around humanities and social sciences,” she said.
New College of the Humanities is seeking to trademark its entire name, since ‘new college’ is too broad a term to be registered.
A number of other similarly named institutions – such as New College, Swindon and New College, Nottingham – are already in existence in the UK.