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24 January 2020TrademarksSarah Morgan

‘Struggling artist’ loses TM in dispute with X Factor winner

The management company of “X Factor” winner James Arthur has succeeded in revoking a trademark of his name before the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

YMU Group (formerly known as the James Grant Group) had opposed the trademark ‘James Arthur’, which was owned by artist Stephen Murphy, before the office on the grounds of non-use.

Earlier in January, the IPO revoked the trademark, finding that Murphy had failed to commercially exploit the trademark, which he had applied for in December 2012.

The trademark, registered in July 2013, covers classes 9, 16, 25 and 41, which include CD’s, clothing and headgear, and entertainment services.

According to Murphy, the trademark had been used since July 2013 in relation to caps and t-shirts, and since 2014 “on class 9 and 14” (although the registration doesn’t cover class 14) “via my website JamesArthurOffical.co with images on a global network and info on a musical performer and sales of my merchandise”.

The above-mentioned website cannot be reached. However, www.jamesarthurofficial.co redirects to a landing page which notes that the website is under construction.

During the hearing, Murphy made a request to file further evidence to support his case, which the IPO agreed to.

The evidence, a letter from eBay seller Leanne Partridge, stated that she had been selling Murphy’s merchandise, such as James Arthur Baseball caps and t-shirts, since 2014.

However, Beverley Hedley of the IPO wasn’t convinced. She said that while Partridge’s letter confirmed that she had sold approximately 50-60 items, there was no evidence of any other sales, and that there was no evidence of marketing or promotion of the registered mark, beyond listings on eBay.

“In the case before me, I accept that the use is neither sham nor token. However, the mere fact that there have been real commercial sales is ... not enough to establish genuine use,” said Hedley.

In coming to her decision, Hedley also cited a letter from Murphy, which had accompanied his further evidence.

“For the most part, the letter consists of Mr Murphy’s expressions of dissatisfaction of having to prove use of his registration in what he considers to be a case of ‘the big man walking over the little man’. It also provides some general information about Mr Murphy’s background as a struggling artist. There is, however, nothing in that letter which assists Mr Murphy in establishing genuine use of his trademark registration,” she concluded.

The IPO revoked the trademark ‘James Arthur’ and ordered Murphy to pay the management agency £1,200 ($1,572).

James Arthur won the ninth series of “X Factor”, a musical talent competition.

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