Newcastle United make moves to trademark phrase 'Howay the lads' for an initial 10 years
If you're a fan of Newcastle United or if you're from the area, you don't need an explanation of what "Howay the lads" means.
You should also know that you never spell 'howay' with two a's for fear of a good hiding. But just in case you need a refresher, 'Howay the lads' simply means 'Come on, boys' or something similar and is used by fans on a regular basis when cheering on the Magpies. Those down the A19 who insist they're a big club use the variation with the different spelling of 'haway'.
Should you be mooching around the Newcastle club shops, or indeed any place that sells Toon memorabilia, you're likely to see plenty of items of merchandise bearing those three words.
However, the club have now made a move to trademark the phrase, which will grant them exclusive rights to use it on official merchandise.
Newcastle United want to own the phrase 'Howay the lads'
According to a report in The Athletic, the club applied for the trademark before the Carabao Cup win last year and are waiting to find out if their application has been successful.
Should the trademark be granted it would be for an initial 10-year period, but then they can apply for indefinite renewals, which we imagine they would.
This would mean that only products officially licensed by the club could sport the phrase. According to The Athletic, this would include football shirts — it already features in the club’s kit for 2025-26 — to beers, other alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, lampshades, microwaves, hairdryers and air fresheners. (Microwaves and hairdryers????)
There has been some opposition to the move
Unsurprisingly, the move has been met with opposition as so many local businesses use the phrase on their merchandise, and this would cut off a significant chunk of their business. Incidentally, the club has already managed to trademark "Howay the lasses".
The timing of the application, just before the historic Carabao Cup win, has also been met with some cynicism, with some thinking it is a blatant cash grab by the club.
It's a pretty standard practice to trademark words and phrases closely associated with a brand, so it's hardly a shocking move, but it is going to be interesting to see the fallout and how closely it is policed if the trademark is awarded.
