One Direction Settle Lawsuit With One Direction & Will Stay One Direction
Earlier this year, we told you about California pop quintet One Direction's lawsuit against their more famous British counterparts of the same name. At the time, One Direction (US) claimed that since they trademarked the name first, the British band would cause confusion in the pop group market—boy bands are like Highlander; there can only be one!—and the UK band should relinquish their name or cough up a portion of their royalties. Simon Cowell, the UK band's manager, countersued, claiming, presumably with nose upturned and eyes rolled, that the American band knew of the British group when they formed.
Sadly, this did not devolve into some giant boy band gang rumble captured by TMZ, but rather, an amicable settlement between the two bands. No financial details have been released, but the settlement allows the UK band to keep their name and forces the US version to rename themselves Uncharted Shores.
When we spoke to the US band in May, frontman Sean O'Leary expressed his frustration at the situation. "We didn’t start any of this," said O'Leary in the below video. "And to have a band that has more power, more popularity, to come in here and absolutely step on us is not cool. They sent their lawyers to us and we’re simply standing up for what’s right.”
So yeah, the band you know (and like? and hate?) as One Direction stays the course as one of the biggest boy bands in the world. The other group begins anew as Uncharted Shores. Is this fair? Sound off in the comments.
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