Universal Just Registered The Name Of The Potential UK Theme Park

Universal has quietly registered a potential name for its impending Bedford-based theme park.

According to a filing last month from the UK Intellectual Property Office, the park could carry the name “Universal United Kingdom Resort”.

This may not be as surprising as it sounds, given that folks had thrown around Universal Studios Great Britain and Universal Studios United Kingdom in the past.

After all, the entire set of parks and hotels in Orlando is the Universal Orlando Resort, with the newer Chinese park being the Universal Beijing Resort. Choosing this name could certainly futureproof the UK park for further expansion, as has been mooted in the past, be it with more hotels or even a water park.

Indeed, as much as Universal has acquired some near 500 acres for the park, they have purchase options for a further 200 acres according to the BBC, so they could have plenty of room to expand with additional amenities in the future. Universal has previously committed to a century’s worth of plans for the Bedford park.

The trademark encompasses a wide range of ‘Classes’ or things it can be applied to, including the important Class 41 and 43. which permits the term for use in ‘theme park services’, entertainment, restaurants and hotels, for instance.

The other ‘Classes’, such as Class 18 (bags), Class 21 (beverageware) and Class 25 (clothing) would indicate a preparedness for being able to use the name on forms of general park merchandise, as is typical.

Universal had previously registered trademarks for the likes of Halloween Horror Nights and even Back To The Future with similar intentions. The Back To The Future trademark covered Class 25 (clothing), Class 28 (toys, ornaments, ephemera) and Class 41 (‘Amusement park attraction and theme park services’), while the Halloween Horror Nights trademark was curiously registered some three years ago, and applied to merchandise-type activities.

Of course, it remains to be seen what occurs with the park beyond what we know already in the detailed planning permission application, which outlined everything from opening hours to potential nighttime entertainment and more besides.