It was late last year when we wrote about two separate attempts to register “New College” as a trademark in the UK. One trademark bid, for New College, Oxford, ended up in a successful registration in late December 2011. The other, from the New College of the Humanities, a new private college in London, is facing an official objection by the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO). The IPO has not made public the reason for the objection, and the application has not been formally refused.
The University of Oxford’s New College had raised concerns about possible confusion between the two schools’ names, and as a result registered New College, Oxford as a trademark. The BBC reports that the New College of the Humanities is planning to re-apply for the trademark, which was originally filed last May.
Do you think the school’s new application will be successful?
