Chelsea and England midfielder Cole Palmer has had his bid to trade mark his “Cold Palmer” nickname and “shivering” goal celebration challenged by a high-end French vineyard.
Palmer, 23, has emerged as one of the biggest stars in the Premier League in recent years. Fans at Stamford Bridge have become accustomed to seeing his ‘shivering’ celebration – rubbing his arms and puffing out his cheeks when he scores.
The footballer filed to trade mark the celebration, his nickname, his image, and his signature in November 2024, according to the government’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO), with the hope of potentially using it to sell a number of different products.
These include clothes and footwear, perfume, razors, toys, soft drinks and alcohol.
A video from Cole Palmer’s trade mark application, shows him demonstrating his celebration.
But records show that Palmer’s attempt to get legal protection to market himself has been challenged by Château Palmer, a well-known vineyard in the south west of France.
A section of Palmer’s application is for: “Alcoholic beverages; alcoholic fruit beverages; pre-mixed alcoholic beverages; wines; spirits; liqueurs; alcoholic energy drinks; low alcoholic beverages; none of the aforesaid, including wines complying with the specifications of the PDO Champagne”.
Lawyers at the IPO will now rule on the opposition after receiving legal representations from both sides.
Château Palmer was founded in 1814 when British Army officer Charles Palmer acquired the estate, according to their website. It describes itself as “one of Bordeaux’s finest grand cru estates”.
At the time of writing, a bottle of ‘Historical XIXth Century blend’ by the vineyard from 2020 was for sale on the wine shop Laithwaites for £250.
Cole Palmer first did his ‘shivering’ celebration in December 2023 when he scored during a 3-2 win over Luton.
After the match, he explained to reporters that he had gotten the idea for the celebration from fellow Manchester City academy graduate Morgan Rogers.
Palmer is not the first footballer to try to trade mark his name and image.
Former Manchester United star Eric Cantona was one of the first, registering the chant “Ooh, ahh Cantona” in 1997.
Fellow Red Devils ex-player Cristiano Ronaldo has also obtained trade marks, including for his name and CR7.
David Beckham did the same, trade marking his surname and for his shirt numbers, DB07 and DB23.
Former Tottenham and Real Madrid player, Gareth Bale, also trade marked his ‘heart’ goal celebration and squad number, while Kylian Mbappé has trade marked his arm-crossed celebration.
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