Judges reject TV show's trademark appeal

The Glee comedy clubs have won another legal battle against the TV show that shares their name.

The Appeal Court has upheld an earlier ruling that Fox, which makes the high school musical show, has infringed the venues' trademark.

Club owner Mark Tughan says that this paves the way for him to seek a cut of the profits from the TV show, which he intends to pursue.

In 2012, Judge Roger Wyand said Fox must rename Glee for British viewers and awarded an interim payment of £100,000 to Comic Enterprises, the company which owns the Glee Club chain.

It would be down to a court to decide exactly how much Murdoch-owned Fox must pay to Comic Enterprises, which runs clubs in Birmingham, Cardiff, Nottingham and Oxford.

The new ruling is the latest in a near five-year battle launched by Tughan. He had further claimed that Fox was guilty 'passing off' the name Glee as being linked to his clubs, but this was thrown out by both the original judge and on appeal.

Comic Enterprises, has owned a trademark on the name ‘The Glee Club’ since 1999 for use in entertainment services, which covers not only live shows but TV programmes and films, as well as clothing. The dispute was sparked after 20th Century Fox trademarked the name ‘Glee’ in categories of merchandise including cosmetics, clothing, leather goods, and porcelain.

Lady Justice Arden, Lord Justice Kitchin and Lord Justice Lloyd Jones were unanimous in passing the judgement backing the clubs in a 21,000-word ruling issued at the High Court today.

'Four and a half years this has been going on,' Tughan said. 'But I am still very glad I did this.'

'I would be misrepresenting things if I said it's over, or even it's a complete win, but the main findings - infringement on both counts are upheld.'

The options that may still be open to Fox include taking their case to the European or Supreme courts.

A spokesperson from Twentieth Century Fox Television said: 'We note the Court of Appeal’s decision and welcome its consideration of the outstanding issues. We remain committed to proving the merits of our case and to delivering Glee to all of its fans in the UK.'

Published: 8 Feb 2016