How Wimbledon Protects its Famous Brand

Wimbledon is one of the most well-known and prestigious sports brands worldwide. Named after an area of south London, the Wimbledon Championships are one of the four Grand Slam tennis events, and the only one to be played on grass. The tournament will mark its 150^th anniversary next year, having been founded in 1877.

Given its worldwide fame and the significant value of the tournament to players, fans and partners, trade mark rights are very important in protecting various aspects of the Wimbledon brand, facilitating merchandising opportunities and providing a tool to tackle counterfeits.

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which runs the Championships, has sought to protect its trade marks almost since the tournament began and today it owns a large number of trade mark registrations in all major jurisdictions. I previously discussed the Wimbledon trade marks in  podcast on Law in Sport, and Wimbledon and IP has also been the subject of a post on the UK IPO blog.

 

The oldest registered UK marks are for THE CHAMPIONSHIP and THE WIMBLEDON, both filed in 1884 for goods in Class 28. Many of the more recent trade mark registrations feature the distinctive crossed-racquet logo. Some registrations also include the slogan “In Pursuit of Greatness”.

 

 

AELTC also owns figurative trade mark registrations in the UK depicting both the Men’s and Women’s trophies.

 

Purple and green

Colour and colour-combination trade marks are very hard to obtain, given the need to show that consumers associate particular colours with certain goods or services. However, Wimbledon has been using the same purple and green colourway since the early 20^th century, which has led to widespread recognition. Over the years, the AELTC has registered a number of figurative marks that include the colours with text and/or the Wimbledon logo.

However, it was only in 2016 that it secured a colour mark registration (pictured) in the UK. The description of the registration states: “The mark is in the form of a stripe consisting of the colour green (Pantone No. 349 C) adjacent to the colour purple (Pantone No. 268 C). The two stripes are of equal proportions and the green stripe is on the left of the purple stripe when presented vertically.” The mark is registered for “Printed publication of books, stationery and diaries, all relating to tennis” in Class 16 and “Tennis skirts; tennis shorts; tennis sweaters; hats, scarves, wrist bands, socks, all being tennis clothing” in Class 25, as well as certain services in Classes 38 and 41.

In the 2017 podcast, we discussed the evidence filed, which included a survey of people at the grounds, written statements and a “huge amount” of pictorial physical evidence dating back many years. Some of this evidence was sourced from the Wimbledon Museum. The application had to be narrowed in respect of Class 25 as it originally claimed a broader range of clothing, but other than that it was registered without objection.

The colour mark application was partly prompted by concerns over unauthorised use of the colours to suggest an association with Wimbledon, including by an unofficial ticket resale platform.

 

 

 

Brand partnerships

 

Like other famous sporting events, Wimbledon can leverage its reputation to secure commercial partnerships with leading brands. But Wimbledon has always taken a distinctive approach to sponsorship, emphasising quality rather than quantity. Unlike many sports events, advertising on and around the court is limited and discreet. There is also a strict dress code for players: they must wear mainly white kit, and the only logos that can be displayed are those of the clothing manufacturer.

However, Wimbledon does have a number of Official Partners that exclusively provide goods and services – currently numbering 16 brands. It has long-term relationships with many of these. For example, ROLEX has been Official Timekeeper since 1978 and IBM has been Official Information Technology partner since 1990.

 

Most notably, SLAZENGER has been the Official Ball partner since 1902: Wimbledon claims this is “the longest partnership in sporting goods history”. The company provides more than 50,000 yellow tennis balls during the annual tournament, each of which has to pass strict quality tests.

Some of the Official Partners also provide co-branding opportunities for Wimbledon. For example, Polo Ralph Lauren X Wimbledon sunglasses are currently for sale in the Wimbledon shop.

 

Experience Wimbledon!

 

The 2026 Wimbledon Championships take place from 29 June to 12 July. However, if you would like to visit before then, the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum and Wimbledon Shop are open daily and you can also book a tour of the grounds. Private group tours in various languages are also available.

You can travel to Wimbledon easily and quickly on the Underground (District line), mainline train from various central London stations or by tram.