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One Direction Sued By US Group of the Same Name

Posted on Apr 11th 2012 9:40AM by Cameron Matthews
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One DirectionBen Stansall, AFP, Getty Images

British pop stars One Direction are being sued by an American band of the same name, TMZ reports. The little known U.S. band say they founded the moniker first and are asking more popular 1D to change their title.

Formed in 2009, the pop punk One Direction from Tres Pinos, Calif. came into existence a whole year before the British boy band even got started. In addition, the U.S. group claims to have a following on this side of the pond, which led them to copyright their name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The American One Direction is now asking for a court order, demanding the British quintet change their name immediately.

Simon Cowell's record label and Sony are also being sued for $1 million in damages due to trademark infringement. The British troupe has yet to respond to the lawsuit. Click here to listen to the U.S. One Direction.

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24 Comments

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pwn3d

better go trademark my moniker "One Erection", before I get sued.

April 12 2012 at 3:45 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Steve

"The way of the transgressor is hard." "The way of the wicked is as darkness, they know not at what they stumble." "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." -Jesus.

April 12 2012 at 3:01 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ocala460

They could always change their name to the "D-Bags".

April 12 2012 at 2:39 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dave

Hi
Who is this?

April 12 2012 at 12:52 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
calarican

Schadenfreude UK toy boys, Schadenfreude.

April 12 2012 at 12:11 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
BILL911SC

Popular???

April 11 2012 at 10:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to BILL911SC's comment
Paws Up

They may not be as popular here as they are in the UK but they are definitely popular. They're like the Jonas Brothers there. They're only making their US debut now but I expect them to quickly become household names whether you like them or not. One Direction even rejected an offer to have their own show on Nickelodeon. Seeing how many times I run into their ads everyday, I wouldn't be surprised if they become as big as the Jonas Brothers. Keep in mind I hate the Jonas Brothers with a passion. Them...I like. British accents make everything better. :) Loved them when they competed on XFactor.

April 11 2012 at 11:31 PM Report abuse -2 rate up rate down Reply
Tom Ross

A lot of the snarky comments already posted about the quality of music of either artist misses the point of the story. It is a purely legal question and not unprecedented. It the early 80's there were 2 bands, again one in the UK and one in the US, called The Beat. It went to court and both had to change their names, or more correctly add to their names, the US band became the Paul Collins Beat, ( I am guessing Paul was a member of the band) they got a bit of MTV play. The other had quite a bit more popularity as The English Beat. Had a number of hits, and 2 of their members went on to form Fine Young Cannibals. Now for my snarky comment, the UK version was on Saturday Night Live last week. I never heard of them tuned in lateand when they came on, I thought that it was a skit on the show, seriously.

April 11 2012 at 8:13 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Tom Ross

You should get one thing straight, the US group is a band, the one in the UK is not a band. Bands play instruments. So called boy bands are not bands, they are vocal groups.

April 11 2012 at 8:00 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
bbhuey4213

Regardless of whether their music is any good or not, infringement is infringement. It's not like it would have been all that difficult nowadays to check on whether a potential band name is already in use. If the US band can prove that their band predates the UK one then they should win any suit and the UK folks should come up with a new moniker. How about "Another Direction"?

April 11 2012 at 6:18 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
void

if you don't know where they are we should just leave them their.

April 11 2012 at 6:00 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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