Sheffield has long been synonymous with quality and therefore subject to the attention of counterfeiters. This protection is still required and the Company is periodically engaged in actions to prevent abusive use of the name Sheffield.
Although the Trade Marks Act of 1994 closed down the Sheffield Register, the Cutlers’ Company still controls the ‘Sheffield’ Certification Mark (CM). The name Sheffield is protected and the Cutlers’ Company acts on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business in the approval of the use of the word ‘Sheffield’ in any business name or title.
In practical terms, this means that anyone wishing to use the name Sheffield when registering a Company has therefore to seek a letter of non- objection from us before it can be registered at Companies House.
The ‘Made in Sheffield’ brand is co-owned by the Company of Cutlers, the Sheffield City Council and the Chamber of Commerce. These were the three elements of the Sheffield Defence Committee when it began in the early 20th century.
The ‘Made in Sheffield’ mark was launched in 2005 and now has more than 200 licence holders. It is in demand as a sign of quality which adds value to products.
The Sheffield Defence Committee Report can be found in the Annual Review for 2018-2019
 Charles Belk was Master Cutler in 1885-86 and a Company Committee was set up to consider the steps necessary to protect the name of ‘Sheffield’, which was being fraudulently stamped on knives, made both at home and abroad.
The local and national press, reported on the misuse of the name of Sheffield and they increasingly wanted the Company ‘to do something’. Newspapers hinted that they could ‘name and shame’, but when the Company asked for the information, it does not appear have been forthcoming. The Company acknowledged that the public debate showed the degree of agitation but reminded people that it had no resources to investigate any allegations, and could only rely on witnesses who might, if wrong, be threatened with libel action. The debate reveals the complexities of the problem, prompting discussions with the Town Council and trips to the Board of Trade in London. Charles Belk and Herbert Hughes, the law clerk, believed the best plan was to go for an international law, which was enforceable, and waited for the next Industrial Properties Convention in Rome in April, 1886. They thought this would have greater publicity than any local initiative. Eventually, at the Convention, there was international agreement, but then it relied on individual governments to take action. Belk stayed on the Company until 1901 and must have continued his involvement with the matter of the false marking of non-Sheffield-made goods. It was not until 1911, seven years after his death, that the name of ‘Sheffield’ received some legal protection. The Cutlers’ Company owns the accreditation mark ‘Sheffield’ and has the power to veto any proposed use of the word ‘Sheffield’ by manufacturers. The ‘Defence of Sheffield’ continues, with numerous battles over the importation of part-made goods being finished in Sheffield and sold as ‘Sheffield’ made; battles which Belk though he had won decades earlier. |
The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire
The Cutlers' Hall
Church Street
Sheffield
S1 1HG
Email: admin@cutlers-hallamshire.org.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 114 272 8456
