20th Century Fox loses UK trademark infringement battle over Glee
The Glee Club has won its trademark battle against the hit television series Glee, which could see the series rebranded or prevented from being broadcast altogether in then UK.
The chain of clubs fought series maker 20th Century Fox over its use of the name, with the High Court ruling in its favour yesterday.
As a result, series merchandise maybe taken off of shelves, while some reports suggest the show might no longer even run in the UK.
Glee Club owner, Mark Tughan, commented: "When Glee was first broadcast on national TV in the UK in early 2010, we knew that we had a problem. As a small independent company we had no way of competing against the advertising and marketing might of the Fox Corporation and knew that our brand and reputation for original and credible comedy and live music would be damaged.
"The confusion caused by the similarity of the names and branding in the same field of entertainment services has led to us losing custom and hampered our ability to establish our brand of cutting edge live comedy and music performances, particularly in relation to some of our newer venues in Oxford and Nottingham, “ he added.
Tughan also said that the decision was a victory for small independent businesses against large multinationals.
A 20th Century Fox Television spokesperson said: “We intend to appeal and are confident that, as the case plays out, we will ultimately prevail. We remain committed to delivering Glee to all of its fans in the U.K.”