The many guises of Paul McCartney are known around the world - McCartney the musician, McCartney the father and more recently, McCartney the rueful domestic litigant. None of these will have prepared fans for the next planned incarnation: McCartney the pantihose.

According to documents lodged with the trademarks registry in London, the multi-millionaire former Beatle has begun a process to trademark his name for use on goods as wide-ranging as pantihose, waistcoats and vegetarian food.

The application was made by McCartney's company, MPL Communications, and if successful will give him the exclusive right to use the name McCartney on clothing, footwear and headgear. It specifies such disparate items as bath robes, articles of fancy dress, overalls, sports clothing and swimwear. But the scope of the application means that the vegetarian musician would also have the right to lend his name to products he is thought to loathe, such as meat and poultry.

A spokesman for McCartney said the inclusion of meat products was purely defensive. "It would give him protection against his name being used on products he does not approve of," he said.

Once a trademark has been granted its owners can take action to preventing others using identical, or even similar, names and logos. The precise nature and look of the trademark will presumably be carefully thought through to avoid confusion with clothing produced by McCartney's daughter Stella, the fashion designer.

After a three-month period during which objections can be lodged with the trademarks registry, a judge will decide whether the marks meet the legal criteria to be registered.