What is the first registered trademark in the United Kingdom?

The Bass red triangle was the first registered trademark in the United Kingdom.

Bass & Co., the Burton-upon-Trent brewery, registered its distinctive red triangle as UK Trade Mark No. 1 when Britain’s national registration system opened on 1 January 1876. The registration followed the Trade Marks Registration Act 1875, which created a formal system for recording and protecting marks used to distinguish one trader’s goods from another’s.

The triangle had already been associated with Bass beer before registration. Its simplicity made it highly visible on beer bottles and labels, while its consistent use helped customers identify the brewery’s products. The mark is therefore an important example of branding predating modern advertising culture.

A frequent date confusion comes from references that say 1875, the year of the legislation. The first registration itself is generally dated 1 January 1876, the first day applications could be accepted. The Bass mark is also often described as the UK’s first registered trade mark, rather than merely the first famous British logo.