Burger King Tried To Block The Trademarking Of An Ancient Manuscript With The Initials BK

When Irish scholars at Trinity College in Dublin tried to trademark the 1,200-year-old historic document known as the Book of Kells (one of the oldest and most decorated versions of the Gospels in the New Testament), they ran into an unexpected problem.Burger King attempted to challenge the Book of Kells trademark because "BK" is their thing.

Before the trademarking process could begin, the courts had to convince Burger King that the trademark on the Book of Kells and all related merchandise would in no way confuse or impact customers looking to buy a Whopper and fries. Luckily, Trinity College will indeed be able to "have it their way," because Burger King dropped the case.

"Eventually, they understood that Trinity College was not interested in the fast-food business," Paul Corrigan, retail and merchandising manager for Trinity College, told Irish Central. "We don't want to be seen as exploiting the Book of Kells, but, as you know, governments have cut university funding and we have to find new ways of financing our preservation of the manuscript and the other ancient texts we look after."