Rebekah Vardy trademarks 'Wagatha' in 'two fingers' to Coleen Rooney after losing libel bid
11 October 2023, 19:09
Rebekah Vardy has trademarked the word 'Wagatha' after losing her libel claim to Coleen Rooney.
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Mrs Vardy, 41, lost her libel claim against Mrs Rooney, 37, last July when the High Court ruled that Mrs Rooney's viral post accusing Mrs Vardy of leaking private information to the press was "substantially true".
The saga was dubbed "Wagatha Christie" - a term that soon went viral as the bizarre case caught the public imagination.
Mrs Vardy also trademarked "Wagatha Christie" in April, in a bid to prevent others from making money from the phrase.
The "Wagatha" application was filed on September 7 by London Entertainment Inc Ltd, a company owned by Mrs Vardy's friend Saphia Maxamed. It has not been approved yet.
Mrs Vardy is facing astronomical payments of up to £1.5 million, after she was forced to cover Mrs Rooney's legal fees.
A source told the Sun that the trademark was "Becky’s two fingers to Coleen and all the misery associated with Wagatha Christie."
They added: "Becky is shrewd and knew people would try to cash in on the phrase.
“She now owns the UK trademark and would consider expanding it to other territories if she thought it was needed.
“If someone wants to print the logo on a mug, for example, they would be infringing the trademark if they didn’t ask permission.
"Or if someone wanted to use the phrase to promote a documentary or a film, they would have to ask to use it as they would be exploiting the phrase for monetary gain.
“It is a legal grey area in some respects, however, and will be done on a case-by-case basis.”
