The owner of Birmingham comedy club Glee said he will expose the “hypocrisy” of Rupert Murdoch when a multi-million pound trademark battle gets to court.
Mark Tughan, who launched the city’s Glee Club almost 20 years ago, is suing the media mogul’s 20th Century Fox after accusing it of infringing his trademark with the hit TV show Glee.
Mr Tughan initially launched legal proceedings through his Comic Enterprises company, at the Patent County Court last year but the judge has now passed the case up to the High Court and the 43-year-old said that if it came to a courtroom battle then Mr Murdoch was very much in his sights.
He said: “Ultimately this is a case that will be decided on in law but we have a situation where Rupert Murdoch tweets about people stealing his content and what he is talking about is his intellectual property.
"I will say that it is hypocritical as this is exactly what he has been doing in this case.”
Barnt Green-born Mr Tughan opened his first Glee venue in Birmingham’s Hurst Street in 1994.
He said he formally registered “The Glee Club” trademark in 2001, renewing it in 2009, prior to the pilot episode of Glee coming out.
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He opened another club in Cardiff in 2001, followed by Oxford and Nottingham branches.
Musical drama Glee was launched in 2009 and has gone on to become a global phenomenon with Hollywood stars such as Gywneth Paltrow taking part and spawning a successful spin-off film.
Mr Tughan said last year that he had hoped the show would be a “one hit wonder” but was forced to act when his business was affected because potential comedy club customers were put off because they thought the club had something to do with the show.
The case was initially heard in the Patent County Court but was moved up to the High Court and while this was an initial victory for 20th Century Fox, Mr Tughan said it was a hollow one.
He said: “The initial reason for going to the Patent County Court was cost but it was a pyrrhic victory for 20th Century Fox as the judge made a security of costs order of just £50,000 when I could have had to pay into the court hundreds of thousands of pounds and there is also no cap on damages in the High Court.”
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According to papers that have now been filed at the High Court, 20th Century Fox intend to fight the claim and will continue to air Glee on Sky 1, claiming the case to be without merit.
It said in its court defence: “It is admitted that [Fox] threatens and intends to continue and repeat the acts complained of. It is fully entitled to do so because the said acts are entirely lawful.”
The papers add that the corporation does not believe that the Glee Club has suffered due to the hit TV show’s popularity. Mr Tughan said that his business had been affected by the show and that he had not launched legal proceedings lightly.
He said: “If I lose I can be held responsible for all 20th Century Fox’s costs but because of the security of costs order I have only had to pay in £50,000.
“At the end of the day I wanted to take this on and I believe I have the law in my favour and I haven’t just taken a second opinion on this, I’ve taken a fourth opinion. What’s the worst that can happen?
“I’ll end up paying their legal fees but I think it’s a risk worth taking.”
Fiona McBride, partner and trade mark attorney at Withers & Rogers, a firm of patent and trademark attorneys headquartered in Leamington Spa, said the outcome was far from certain.
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“On the face of it, it seems unlikely that The Glee Club would have grounds for a successful claim,” she said.
“Although they acquired the right to use the words The Glee Club in connection with merchandise and entertainment services well before the TV programme first aired, the show is not using an identical mark and therefore they would need to show a likelihood of confusion to be successful.
“However, there is the potential that through the show’s success, 20th Century Fox may set up fanzine clubs and internet sites which could be tempted into using The Glee Club for their name. This would create confusion in the marketplace and a claim would be valid – so it is not entirely cut and dried.”
20th Century Fox, which has previously stated that it won’t comment on ongoing legal proceedings, has instructed Simmons & Simmons to fight the claim.