YouView has been found to have infringed on Total’s ‘Your View’ trademark, the third courtroom victory for the small telecoms firm.
Despite YouView having argued that the trademark was invalid, the High Court’s Mr Justice Sales today ruled against the TV venture jointly owned by seven broadcasting giants, including TalkTalk, BT, BBC, ITV and Channel 4. Now, Total Ltd will seek an injunction which would prevent YouView further using its name.
A move which would prove catastrophic for the Sky and Virgin Media rival, Total is also seeking financial compensation from YouView, as well as looking to recoup its legal costs.
Although YouView has already seen one appeal rejected, the TV provider, which currently has more than 1 million YouView boxes in UK homes, is not going without a fight.
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As you would expect, Lorrin White, Managing Director of YourView owner Total has different views on the ruling.
“As a growing business, Total has always taken the protection of its intellectual property rights very seriously,” White said in an official statement.
“I am delighted that our determination – and considerable investment – in doing so has resulted in the Courts finding in our favour once again. Whilst Total may not compare to YouView in terms of size, we both operate in the same industry space. We protect our rights to brand ownership and wholeheartedly defend those rights – as any business should – otherwise we would never have registered our marks in the first place.”
She added: “Our integrated YourView products are core to the long term strategy of Total. We are a business that respects our partners, competitors and the wider industry, but YouView have persisted in their infringement of our registered mark, leaving us no option but to take action through the courts.”
Paul Gordon, Litigation Partner at Willans LLP added: “This is the most significant of the three wins that Total has obtained over YouView. I think Total has shown great courage and principle in pursuing YouView to trial.
“Total’s rights were plainly infringed and it had to stand firm against a much larger and better-funded opponent. The judgment of Mr Justice Sales has vindicated Total’s position. It shows that the Courts of this country will protect parties against businesses such as YouView who infringe intellectual property rights.
“YouView were made well aware of Total’s rights before they launched the service under the infringing name yet they chose to launch it under that name regardless.”
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
