The hit American TV show will have to be renamed if it's shown within the UK. A judge in London has ordered the media giant Twentieth Century Fox to "cease naming" the series Glee. Twentieth Century Fox lost their high court battle with Comic Enterprises. A Birmingham based United Kingdom, comedy club, who held the rights to use the phrase "The Glee Club". The first Glee Club was opened in 1994 by Mark Tughan in Birmingham's Chinese quarter and now operate clubs in Oxford, Nottingham, Cardiff and Birmingham.
Twentieth Century Fox's broadcast of Glee in the UK breached Comedy Enterprises trade mark rights to use the phrase The Glee Club.
Twentieth Century Fox disagreed. Judge Wyand ruled in favour of Comic Enterprise which run four comedy clubs. Their 1999 registered trademark The Glee Club. In February judge Wyand concluded that Comic Enterprises had established that Twentieth Century Fox had infringed its trademark rights to the words "The Glee Club In addition he said "Comic Enterprises trademark was suffering detriment and there was likelihood of confusion". Yesterday (18 July 2014) judge Wyand said he had concluded that an order forcing Twentieth Century Fox to change the name should be granted, the judge said "Such an order was not unfair. Deputy High Court Judge Roger Wyand added that his order would not come into effect until the court of appeal had given its backing.
It's not been a good year for the film giant film company. Back in March 2014 John Drinkwater claims in a law suit that Twentieth Century Fox invaded his Sherman Oaks neighborhood for a few days to shoot a TV pilot program, but the production became an assault on his senses, with gunshots and screeching car chases. Drinkwater says, the film crews may be gone but not in my head.
He claims debilitating nightmares, describing one as film companies coming into my house at night, making lots of noise and refusing to leave. Drinkwater says ,It doesn't end with bad dreams, he says the fear of film crews coming back sends him into panic attacks whenever he sees an unknown person who looks as if they might be part of a film crew. Drinkwater claims he now has PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) His doctor diagnosed it and traces it back to the Fox shoot.
