Ukraine can’t trademark ‘Russian warship, go f**k yourself’, EU court rules

Ukraine’s border guards cannot trademark the anti-Russian wartime insult, “Russian warship, go f**k yourself,” because it is a political slogan, an EU court ruled Wednesday.

The cry was the defiant response of Ukrainian defenders to a Russian warship calling for surrender in the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The General Court of the European Union said the phrase “quickly became a symbol of Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression,” and was widely used in a political context to promote support for Ukraine, a press release from the Court of Justice of the European Union outlined.

The bold words were the last known radio communication from Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island, a rocky island in the Black Sea. They soon became a widely memed symbol of Ukrainian resistance.

The phrase was repeated on everything from T-shirts to postage stamps and road signs.

The State Border Guard of Ukraine had intended to use the trademark to sell a wide range of goods, as well as for publishing, education, entertainment, and sports services.

The court judged that the trademark would fail to fulfill its essential function; consumers would perceive a political message, rather than the “indication of a commercial origin,” the press release said.

Ukraine recaptured the small but strategically significant island in June 2022. The Ukrainian soldiers of the island had been taken captive but were later exchanged for Russian prisoners in January of this year.