German drinks company trademarks 'f**k'

A German drinks company has succeeded in trademarking the word 'f**k'.

Liquor manufacturer EFAG was this week awarded legal protection of the brand name 'Ficken', which translates to the four-letter swearword in English, by the country's Federal Patent Court.

The company launched its challenge after being denied exclusivity of the name 'Ficken' schnapps by the German Patent and Trademark Office, which repeatedly refused to register the name after deeming it to be socially offensive.

EFAG will now own the 'Ficken' trademark for clothing, mineral water and fruit drinks, as well as alcoholic drinks.

The court ruled that although the brand name was in poor taste, it was not "sexually discriminatory" and did not violate public morals.

EFAG's case was helped when the court discovered 'ficken' in the definitive German dictionary and determined that it was used by people "in the widest range of social classes and age groups".