Section 4(1) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (the Act) states that:

4. - (1) A trade mark which consists of or contains –

[Here listing Royal and national devices]

shall not be registered unless it appears to the registrar that consent has been given by or on

behalf of Her Majesty or, as the case may be, the relevant member of the Royal family.

To use an example that crops up every Olympics or World Cup, the St George Cross, and indeed any flag of the United Kingdom, is protected by the. s4(2) of the Act, which states that a trade mark which consists of or contains a representation of the national flag of the United Kingdom (commonly known as the Union Jack), or the flag of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or the Isle of Man shall not be registered if it appears to the registrar that the use of the trade mark would be misleading or grossly offensive.

Speaking of Olympics, s4(5) specifically prohibits the use of Olympic devices.

Any use of the St George’s Cross must not be such that it would mislead the public into assuming that the goods or services on which the cross was displayed was manufactured or originated in England and they did not. Although this can be overcome from outside England by indicating prominently on any such goods that they were in fact made outside England.