Battle of the Bands

Trademarks can be one of the most significant of IP rights as a recent case involving the band Wishbone Ash  demonstrates.

The band was popular in the 1970s, and as often happens with bands, members came and went, so that eventually Andy Powell was the last man standing from the original group. He nurtured a new team so that the Wishbone Ash band still performs under that name. He registered the name as a European Community trademark. Then a former band member, Martin Turner set up a new band under the name calling his band Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash. So, Andy Powell successfully applied for an injunction to stop the use of the name Wishbone Ash. Martin Turner is apparently appealing the court’s decision. The judge awarded Andy Powell more than £40,000 in costs and has ordered Martin Turner to deliver up all flyers, CD covers and other material which bears the Wishbone Ash name.

Over on Azrights trademark registration blog we recently reported the Nestle v Cadbury case which demonstrates how difficult it can be to secure trademark protection for colours. We also discussed the lessons to be learned from the Duffins trademark case about what to do during product creation in order to protect your brand.