LONDON, July 4: The face of Diana, Princess of Wales, ``belongs to the world'' and cannot be a trademark, it was reported on Saturday.The British Patent Office has blocked attempts by the Princess' Memorial Fund to take a share of the profits from anyone using her image to sell goods, The Times newspaper said.Fund trustees sent 26 well-known photographs of Diana to the Patent Office some seven months ago to register the pictures as intellectual property. The fund could have made millions of pounds for the charitable causes it supports by licensing her face on tea towels and mugs sold as souvenirs around the world. A High Court ruling last year gave the Princess' executors powers to license souvenirs and memorabilia.But The Times reported that the patent office decided that the fund's attempt to control the use of pictures went beyond powers that had been granted. Princess' Memorial Fund board members now have time until the end of next month to come up with a revised proposal.The fundapplied for copyright in a huge variety of classes of goods, from kitchen utensils to Christmas tree decorations, from yeasts to fire extinguishers and salad dressings, as well as advertising, clothing and games.
