SELLOTAPE
Sellotape has been registered in the UK for adhesive tape since the 1930s. Although the product itself is a straightforward cellulose adhesive tape, the brand became so dominant in Britain that 'sellotape' is widely used as a generic verb and noun for any clear adhesive tape.
UK IPO Record
- Application Number
- UK00000686626
- Word Mark
- Sellotape
- Status
- Registered
- Applied
- 22 February 1950
- Registered
- 22 February 1950
- Next Renewal
- 22 February 2029
- Owner
- Henkel AG & Co. KGaA
- Nice Classes
- Class 17
Brand History & Trademark Analysis
Sellotape has been registered in the UK for adhesive tape since the 1930s. Although the product itself is a straightforward cellulose adhesive tape, the brand became so dominant in Britain that 'sellotape' is widely used as a generic verb and noun for any clear adhesive tape. The trademark owners have consistently fought to maintain the mark's distinctiveness and prevent it becoming legally generic.
The trademark owners have consistently fought to maintain the mark's distinctiveness and prevent it becoming legally generic.
Nice Class 17 covers rubber & plastics. View all Class 17 trademarks and case studies →
Historical Background
Sellotape was first manufactured in 1937 by Colin Kininmonth and George Gray at a facility in Acton, west London. The name derives from the French word "cellophane" and "tape." The original company, Sellotape GB Limited, was formed in 1937. Henkel acquired the brand as part of a broader adhesives portfolio. Despite widespread genericised use, Sellotape Ltd has consistently enforced the mark and publishes guidance recommending the use of lower-case generic alternatives to slow genericisation.