In a recent decision, the Greek TM Office rejected the mark “MAFIA BASTARDS” (depicted below) in Class 25 as running contrary to Greek public order and established morals.

The said decision, definitely approved by this blogger’s inner good taste police, does not fit well with his idea of how morality should be understood and applied by public institutions in open societies. To be fair, the Greek TM Office has been consistently rejecting marks including the word “MAFIA” - in any class - and it seems “bastards” is the particular applicant’s own trademark innovation, as no one else appears to have included that word in a trademark application in Greece in the past. But one would think both words have long been released from moral prison in Greece and it’s hard to imagine the harm incurred to Greek legal order’s integrity or Greek citizen’s moral posture by use of the said mark, though, no offence intended,  it’s not hard to imagine the negative effect on the sales of the applicant’s goods. Interestingly, a quick, TMView-powered, search with the UK IPO’s records revealed a good number of marks incorporating “MAFIA” or “BASTARDS” registered in various Classes including 25.