<p dir="ltr">As others say, you don't copyright a name. You trademark it, and there are considerable opportunities for objections through the trademarking process. Even when you are granted a trademark, that doesn't stop others beginning legal action. (As one example, Radio Exe in Exeter is apparently - and rightly, in my view - a little irritated that Global has been given a trademark for Radio X).</p>
<p dir="ltr">There have been instances where old brands have been used by other companies. One specific example is Pennine FM, which was used first by the Yorkshire Radio Network in 1989 for the ILR in Bradford before rebranding to The Pulse, and then (foolishly) re-used as the last death gasp of a smaller ILR in Huddersfield (previously Home 107.9) by Minster Sound Holdings.</p>
<p dir="ltr">And this probably highlights the futility of nabbing an old name. Pennine FM had lots of associations, not all positive. When you take on someone else's brand, you get the negative as well as the positive. Better to stop the confusion and have a new brand. Otherwise the first thing people think is "That's that radio station in Bradford, isn't it? Why do I want to advertise on that?"</p>
<p dir="ltr">Finally, call your station what you like, and broadcast from a studio complex in a fancy or historic location - neither of these things matter if you want listeners. Today's celebrity birthdays, a top ten at ten, or an hour of James Bond music, don't get any more relevant to local audiences if you're doing it from round the corner. Instead, concentrate on real, relevant content rather than "aren't we clever we've got someone else's name". You don't need flashy studios - indeed, you might not even need a studio at all.</p>
<p dir="ltr">J<br>
</p>
<br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr">On Thu, 18 Feb 2016, 01:37 David Duffy <<a href="mailto:david@theradiopeople.co.uk">david@theradiopeople.co.uk</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div style="word-wrap:break-word"><span><br></span><span>Are you sure you mean ‘copyright’ ? You can’t copyright a name. You can register it with Companies House. Maybe they've copyrighted or trade-marked the logo. Is it that?<br></span><span><br></span><span>Regardless, the problem they’ll face with their rebranding is that the existing user of the name (Global?) has defacto rights by virtue of them using it currently to trade - whether they have registered it or not. So, if the 3rd party start using it and it’s considered that the use of the name misleads or confuses the public then they could be in trouble for ‘passing off’ - passing themselves of so as to gain benefit and do commercial harm. Ouch!</span><span><br><br></span><span>Plus if it’s Global you know they’ll have deep pockets and an army of suits. <br></span><span><br></span><div><span>David</span></div><div><a href="http://www.theradioppeople.co.uk" target="_blank">www.theradioppeople.co.uk</a> </div></div><div style="word-wrap:break-word"><div><br><br><br><div><blockquote type="cite"><div>On 17 Feb 2016, at 12:59, Ian Hickling <<a href="mailto:transplanfm@hotmail.com" target="_blank">transplanfm@hotmail.com</a>> wrote:</div><br><div><div style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px"><span style="font-size:12.8px">I wish to remain behind closed doors however, we have been approached by a 3rd party who has managed to copyright the name of a very successful station prior to a Global takeover.</span></div><div style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px"><div style="font-size:12.8px"><br></div></div><div style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px"><div style="font-size:12.8px">Intentions are to re-brand their existing service which is on DAB & FM and we were asked to be a part of it because of our location being that of where the aforementioned radio station was based, which is something the 3rd party don't have.</div></div><div style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px"><div style="font-size:12.8px"><br></div></div><div style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px"><div style="font-size:12.8px">Question is - would this work? How would it confuse the market place? Is it something that has been done elsewhere?</div></div><div style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px"><div style="font-size:12.8px"><br></div></div><div style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px"><div style="font-size:12.8px">I hope all of this makes sense and that you appreciate my anonymity! </div></div></div></blockquote></div><br></div></div>_______________________________________________<br>
<br>
Reply - <a href="mailto:cma-l@commedia.org.uk" target="_blank">cma-l@commedia.org.uk</a><br>
<br>
The cma-l mailing list is a members' service provided by the Community Media Association - <a href="http://www.commedia.org.uk" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.commedia.org.uk</a><br>
Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/community_media" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/community_media</a><br>
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/CommunityMediaAssociation" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/CommunityMediaAssociation</a><br>
Canstream Internet Radio & Video: <a href="http://www.canstream.co.uk/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.canstream.co.uk/</a><br>
_______________________________________________<br>
<br>
Mailing list guidelines: <a href="http://www.commedia.org.uk/about/cma-email-lists/email-list-guidelines/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.commedia.org.uk/about/cma-email-lists/email-list-guidelines/</a><br>
_______________________________________________<br>
<br>
To unsubscribe or manage your CMA-L mailing list subscription please visit:<br>
<a href="http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/cma-l" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/cma-l</a></blockquote></div>