High street restaurant chain surrenders trademark following backlash

British-founded Vietnamese restaurant chain Pho has filed a request to surrender its trademark on the word 'pho', Femail can exclusively reveal.

The UK chain, founded in 2005 by Stephen and Juliette Wall after they travelled to Vietnam and fell in love with the slow-simmered broth, has applied to drop the trademark following mounting backlash on social media.

Critics threatened to 'boycott' the brand for restricting Vietnamese restaurant owners from using and profiting off the term 'pho' in their branding, despite phở being the national dish of the southeast Asian country.

A representative told Femail: 'We have always loved the Vietnamese food and culture that Pho has been inspired by and have been listening to the comments from the past week.'

'We understand the concerns that have been raised and have today filed a request to the Intellectual Property Office to surrender our registered trademark on the use of 'pho.'

It's a debate that roots back to 2013, when a small southeast London restaurant called Mo Pho said it had received a legal letter from Pho Holdings requesting it changes its name.

Pho Holdings said it had trademarked the word 'pho' six years prior, a time when knowledge of the soup dish was limited in the UK, meaning only they could use the term in the title of a restaurant business.

Despite the chain claiming that it had not trademarked the Vietnamese dish, just the company name to protect business, outrage formed on social media, with one likening the decision to trademarking 'sandwich and not letting others use it'.

The brand later admitted to making a mistake and tweeted that they had dropped the dispute against the now-permanently closed Mo Pho, according to The Guardian.

The debate cooled off and the chain went on to find success in the UK, going from serving approximately 20 people a day in its first year to having 45 locations selling thousands of bowls of pho per week.

Fast forward to this month, and a London-based influencer with Vietnamese heritage reopened the discussion with a scathing TikTok, which gained over two million views.

Yen, who goes by @iamyenlikethemoney on the platform, said: 'So, as a Vietnamese person, every single time I walk past this restaurant, it makes my blood boil because not only is this restaurant white owned...but they trademarked the word pho in the UK'.

She explained how the chain had contacted other businesses using the term in their name, saying: 'Do you know how insane that is? That is like trademarking the word fish and chips, kebab, or sushi... it is so generic'.

'Pho is literally the national dish of Vietnam and for you to trademark that as a white person...the audacity'.

Yen's video quickly boomed on the platform, with viewers expressing plans to 'boycott' the chain.

Pho responded to recent criticism on its social media channels, writing: 'We have seen some conversations this week about a trademark related to our brand that has been misunderstood.

'Our founders opened Pho to pay tribute to the national dish of Vietnam, after they fell in love with it during their travels.

'Let us categorically say - we would never attempt to trademark this dish. Like so many of you who have shared passionate comments about this, we believe that pho doesn't belong to anyone but the people of Vietnam.

'It's true that we hold a registered trademark that related to our brand identity and logo, but this does not limit any other business to use the word pho in their name.

'More than 50 other businesses in the UK currently also hold a trademark that related to the word pho.

'As for any claims that we are suing Vietnamese businesses, this is simply not true'.

'Pho exists because we love pho and want as many people as possible to enjoy it too.

'We understand why confusion with our trademark has caused some people to be upset and we hope this clarifies our brand's relationships with pho and other local businesses.'

Some viewers demanded further action and branded the apology 'disingenuous', with people advising others to avoid the chain and instead turn to 'authentic' restaurants in the comment section.

In response to the backlash, a Pho spokesperson told Femail that the brand has filed a request to surrender its registered trademark of the word pho.

A Pho spokesperson said: 'We have always loved the Vietnamese food and culture that Pho has been inspired by and have been listening to the comments from the past week.

'We understand the concerns that have been raised and have today filed a request to the Intellectual Property Office to surrender our registered trademark on the use of 'pho'.'

The brand expects that the Intellectual Property Office will review the request in the upcoming days.