AN OXFORD college which dates back to the 14th century is applying to trade mark its name to avoid confusion with a new London college.

New College, Oxford, which was founded by the Bishop of Winchester in 1379, has filed the application to trade mark its name with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

Staff at the college contacted the IPO after Prof AC Grayling launched his New College of the Humanities earlier this year in London.

Prof Grayling’s £18,000-a-year university, which promises one-on-one tutorials, hopes to take 375 students a year, and has also contacted the IPO to trade mark its name.

David Palfreyman, bursar at New College, said it would lodge a formal complaint to the IPO if the London-based college continued with its proposal to trade mark its name.

He added: “The governing body still needs to discuss this but it is likely that it will object.

“If the name was New College of the Humanities, London, then we would have to live with it but it is the lack of a geographic name that causes the problem. If the name is shortened it could easily cause confusion.

“We don’t want people to think that we have set up a humanities campus in London.

“We are neutral in terms of whether or not their college succeeds – the issue we have is the possibility of confusion.

“The college in London is offering tutorial teaching and our kind of package and we don’t want it to look as if we are endorsing it.”