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Located
by The Tall Ship at the SECC in Glasgow, The Curry Karaoke Club -
currently the only venue that specialises exclusively in karaoke
party nights combined with Indian cuisine - has successfully taken
Black & White 2 Limited, operating from a venue in the city's
Hope Street, to court to prevent its use of the trade mark
'Curryoke'.
Chan Bains, proprietor of The
Curry Karaoke Club, purchased the Curryoke trade mark last year,
having previously used it under licence. In addition to using the
brand to promote his own operation, Mr Bains also licenses the brand
for use by various other companies, including WKD and JD Wetherspoon.
But when he discovered that Black
& White 2 was promoting a Curryoke Club, Mr Bains approached the
company's owners to advise them that they were infringing a
registered trade mark and to enquire if they would be interested in
licensing the brand. However, when his enquiry was met with threats
of violence, Mr Bains called in the police who subsequently advised
him to seek legal advice.
Acting on behalf of The Curry
Karaoke Club, McClure Naismith Solicitors successfully raised an
action against Black and White 2 at the Court of Session in Edinburgh
to protect the trade mark by obtaining an interim interdict
preventing Black and White 2 from using the word 'Curryoke' or
similar in its advertising and signage.
When Black and White 2 failed to
comply with this court order, McClure Naismith obtained a further
court order requiring the removal of any signage from its premises
using the word 'Curryoke' or similar within 48 hours. Black and White
2 again failed to comply and McClure Naismith instructed Gordon &
Noble, court officers, to remove the signage, which they did on
Wednesday 5th March.
Mr Bains said, "It is my
hope that this case will serve as a clear warning that we will use
the full force of the law to protect our Curryoke brand. This blatant
trade mark infringement was damaging our business and, more
importantly, tarnishing our reputation. When Black and White 2
refused to deal with us on a reasonable basis we were left with no
option but to pursue legal action.
"It's important, too,
that members of the public realise that there's only one genuine
'Curryoke' operator in Glasgow - and we're based at The Tall Ship by
the SECC."
Euan Duncan of McClure Naismith
said, "We are very pleased the courts have recognised the
rights of our client in this case. It is important for trade mark
owners' rights to be seen to be enforceable."
Mr Bains has firm plans to expand
the Curryoke and The Curry Karaoke Club brands throughout the UK,
with new outlets earmarked for sites in Glasgow's Merchant City,
Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester.
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