UKIPO Invalidates Third-Party Wordle Mark on Bad Faith Grounds

The UK Intellectual Property Office has ruled in consolidated opposition and invalidation proceedings that a third-party international registration designating the UK for the mark WORDLE must be invalidated. The decision, issued in early 2026, upheld claims brought by The New York Times Company against the registration owned by Stefan Heine. The Hearing Officer found that the application was made in bad faith, relying on evidence of the NYT’s extensive prior use of the unregistered sign WORDLE in the UK since June 2021 in connection with its popular word game. The ruling also confirmed that protection could be secured on the basis of an earlier unregistered mark without the need for a prior UK registration. The proceedings addressed multiple grounds under the Trade Marks Act 1994, with the bad faith finding proving decisive in removing the conflicting mark from the register.

Small-business owners should document evidence of any significant pre-filing use of their signs to strengthen potential claims against later conflicting applications.