Gordon Ramsay Has Won The Spotted Pig UK Trademark [Update: And He Will Pass It On]

The Spotted Pig trademark fiasco plays on today with word that Gordon Ramsay's restaurant group has successfully won UK trademark rights to the name of April Bloomfield's New York restaurant. Bloomberg food critic Richard Vines learns from the Intellectual Property Office that while one party did register an objection to the trademark application, that opposition period has expired. Now, Vines writes, "The right to use the name lasts for 10 years." Happy 9th birthday, Spotted Pig team.

But just because Ramsay has the trademark, doesn't necessarily mean he'll keep it. After all the criticism that emerged from the likes of Anthony Bourdain and Jamie Oliver over the original trademark application, Ramsay reportedly told Mario Batali that he was going to give the trademark back. And The Spotted Pig's Ken Friedman echoed that news just two weeks ago, telling Food Republic that Ramsay had apologized and that while the shouty chef is "probably a jerk... he wasn't a jerk in this regard." So stay tuned for the handover, maybe?

UPDATE: Vines checks in with Gordon Ramsay's team, which says it "has been liaising with The Spotted Pig and has passed along UK trademark as agreed." Hooray, the terror of SpottedPigGate is finally over.

· Gordon Ramsay Succeeds in 'Spotted Pig' U.K. Application [Bloomberg]
· All SpottedPigGate Coverage on Eater [-E-]