UK court orders ‘Glee’ to change its name in trademark battle
By Josh Haggis
The High Court has ruled that Glee must change its name in the UK because it is breaching the trademark of a chain of comedy clubs.
Comedy and music venue The Glee Club, which has branches in Birmingham, Cardiff, Nottingham and Oxford, successfully claimed in February that ‘Glee’s makers FOX had infringed on its UK trademark.
FOX appealed the decision, but lost the the battle yesterday (July 18) when a High Court judge ruled that the show must be renamed, ordering the US network to pay The Glee Club £100,000 in damages.
“I find it hard to believe that the cost of the re-titling and publicising of the new name would be so prohibitive compared to the value of the series,” said judge Roger Wyand. “I was told many times during the course of the trial how this series is a ‘blockbuster.'”
FOX now has the option to fight the ruling in the Court of Appeals – so a stay has been placed on Wyland’s ruling until the process is complete, allowing Glee to continue to use the name in the UK for the time being.
Glee’s sixth and final season will premiere in September in the US. In the UK, the show airs on Sky 1.
More ‘Glee’ news:
Naya Rivera ‘confirmed’ to return for final season of ‘Glee’
‘Glee’s Chris Colfer not leaving the show, despite tweet