Sunday, September 25, 2011

F***in' Good Schnapps!

After days of bad news and bitchy blogging,
I needed a f***in’ good laugh...
...and I got one from Germany, where a drinks company has won a court battle to register the
F-word as a trademark!
Now, I thought chef Gordon Ramsay had market exclusivity on this, but apparently not! Liquor manufacturer EFAG has won legal protection for the brand name of its 'Ficken' peach schnapps. Drinkers may feel a bit awkward when asking for the drink - it's named after the German word for "f***."
The schnapps maker took the case to court after officials refused to register the name as a trademark, arguing it was socially offensive. Following its legal victory, EFAG now owns the 'Ficken' trademark for clothing, mineral water and fruit drinks, as well as alcoholic drinks (but perhaps not for tv cooking programmes).
The court ruled that, although the name was in poor taste, it was not "sexually discriminatory" and did not violate public morals.

Try this: type "ficken" into Google Translate and, sure enough, it certainly does mean "F***". However, key in the phrase at the back of the photo – "Hinter Dichtem Fichtendickicht Picken Dicke Finken Tüchtig!" – and Google tells me it means "Dense pine thicket behind thick finches pecking hard!" W-T-Ficken??!!
Obviously something's been lost in translation...
[...unt for more on zis particular word, click here...]

No comments: