On St George’s Day many news sources look at things we might not know about this patron saint of the English, the history and myth of the saint and his flag in modern culture and politics.

For today’s post in a very brand geeky way, I wondered what the UK Trade Mark Register might tell us about the meaning or associations (or appropriations) of St George. It is perhaps not surprising the name St George is used as a brand by a range of entities, and perhaps not surprising, that food and drink in particular has such branding. ST GEORGE’S for example is registered for beer, ale, spirits and for meat and dairy, but by different operators. Indeed, there is a registration for the slogan "Bombardier. The official beer of St George’s Day”. A version of the flag is registered by the British Tourist Authority. It also isn’t just English or UK entities that own registrations for this name. But perhaps the most interesting registration in the context of a name with such history is the registration for ST GEORGE for tobacco dating from 1876 (the first year of the register in the UK) and still in force (Registration Number 5589).