Glasgow's Willow Tea Rooms owner wins name battle Published duration 3 February 2017

image copyright Watt Brothers image caption Anne Mulhern ran The Willow Tea Rooms in Sauchiehall Street

The woman who ran The Willow Tea Rooms on Sauchiehall Street for more than 30 years has won a legal battle to keep its name.

Anne Mulhern had opposed an attempt by the Willow Tea Rooms Trust to trademark the name, which is associated with designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

The UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO) told BBC Scotland that her challenge had been successful.

The Tea Rooms Trust has 28 days to appeal against the ruling.

The Sauchiehall Street building and interiors were designed by Mackintosh and built in 1903 for Kate Cranston, who ran a number of tea rooms.

Ms Mulhern, 60, transformed the Tea Rooms back to their original use in 1983 after the building had been used as a retail unit.

However, she did not own the building and it was acquired by the Willow Tea Rooms Trust in 2014.

The trust recently closed the building for a £10m two-year refurbishment.

image copyright Watt Brothers image caption The interior of the Willow Tea Rooms will be recreated at the Watt Brothers department store

image copyright CRM Society image caption Two waitresses in the Room de Luxe

Meanwhile, Ms Mulhern, who also operates the Willow Tea Rooms on Buchanan Street, has moved her Sauchiehall Street operation to the third floor of the Watt Bros department store.

The UK IPO said a 73-page ruling on the trademark dispute would be published next week.

It said Ms Mulhearn's opposition to the Willow Tea Rooms Trust's trademark application had been successful because she had a similar existing trademark.

She also had a "reputation among a known class of people" - meaning that tourists and locals had used her tea rooms for many years.

The Willow Tea Rooms Trust has 28 days to appeal against the ruling. If it does not the trademark will be formally refused.

image copyright Google