Newcastle United have launched a trademark campaign to the UK Intellectual Property Office
Newcastle United fans with Howay The Lads banner before the Carabao Cup Semi Final Second Leg match between Newcastle United and Arsenal at St James' Park
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Newcastle United have launched a bid to trademark the phrase 'Howay the lads' but have been met with opposition over the controversial move.
The Magpies have applied to register the iconic words as a trademark which will see them gain exclusive rights to the use of the words on merchandise, initially for a 10-year period but they can apply for indefinite renewals, The Athletic has reported. The application to the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) was made two days before Newcastle's historic Carabao Cup win over Liverpool, last March.
Their application is believed to cover numerous categories from football shirts, alcoholic beverages, lampshades and air fresheners. The opposition from another party means they are contesting their attempts to trademark the phrase, while the club are attempting to convince the IPO that they should be awarded the trademark.
The phrase, which means "come on, boys", is traditional in Geordie dialect and has used in rallying displays at St James' Park in recent years. Wor Flags have used it on their displays around the stadium.
However, the move - should it be awarded to the football club - will mean that other companies who produce club-related memorabilia and retail products will be unable to do so, potentially harming businesses and small local firms.
The famous Howay the Lads sign in the tunnel at St James' Park
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The phrase is already famously used above the tunnel at St James' Park, which is regularly broadcast to global audiences, and is also on the back of the men's home shirt.
Newcastle have already trademarked "howay the lasses" which features on the back of the women's home shirts with the IPO awarding the trademark in August 2025 to no opposition.
The club regularly use the phrase, and did so to build up to their Premier League showdown with Manchester City as part of their social media coverage.
Cole Palmer recently moved to trademark his 'cold' celebration in a bid to market himself and build his own personal brand. In doing so, the Chelsea and England midfielder successfully trademarked the term 'Cold Palmer'.
Global football stars Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Gareth Bale and Lionel Messi are among the footballers who have successfully registered trademarks.
Bruno Guimaraes of Newcastle United holds up a Howay The Lads scarf
Bruno Guimaraes of Newcastle United holds up a Howay The Lads scarf at Wembley after winning the Carabao Cup
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But Liverpool's attempts to trademark the word "Liverpool" failed and were met with intense scrutiny and opposition.
The IPO blocked the move due to the "geographical significance" of the city and supporters' group Spirit of Shankly staged a demonstration against the notion ahead of of their encounter with Newcastle United in 2019, showing support for independent retailers.
In a statement, Liverpool said: "The club accepts the decision that has been taken by the Intellectual Property Office, due primarily to what the official judgement cites as ‘the geographical significance’ of Liverpool as a city in comparison to place names that have been trademarked by other football clubs in the UK.
"We will, however, continue to aggressively pursue those large-scale operations which seek to illegally exploit our intellectual property and would urge the relevant authorities to take decisive action against such criminal activity wherever it exists.”
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