The journey of most legal battles - don’t worry we’re not talking in the family law sense - is a path well trodden, but a case between two footballer’s wives is the gift that keeps on giving.
Regular readers may remember the High Court case involving Rebekah Vardy, married to footballer Jamie Vardy and Coleen Rooney, wife of retired footballer Wayne Rooney, over Rooney's claim that Vardy had been selling stories about her to the press. The dispute was dubbed 'Wagatha Christie'.
Vardy failed in the High Court and as Obiter knows a failed legal fight doesn’t always mean the fight is over. Usually, however, there is an expected path that includes appeals, countless hours and rising costs to try and argue the verdict was wrong or unfair.
Vardy, who could be ordered to pay Rooney’s legal fees of around £1.5m, has chosen a different path entirely. Instead, she has trade marked 'Wagatha Christie'. It was officially added to the list of registered trade marks last week.
This means that anyone wishing to use 'Wagatha Christie' commercially will have to get Vardy’s permission and pay her for the privilege. She may make a pretty penny too, despite not coming up with the phrase herself. The story of both the case and Rooney’s very public accusations against Vardy on social media have already been the source of a TV drama, a documentary, and a West End play. Could the next instalment be in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court?
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