the law

The British One Direction Is Being Sued by the California One Direction

(L-R) Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Harry Styles of the band One Direction perform on NBC's
(L-R) Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Harry Styles of the band One Direction perform on NBC’s “Today†show at Rockefeller Plaza on March 12, 2012 in New York City. Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

How famous is One Direction these days? So famous that the group is finally getting sued for copyright infringement. Boy Band’s First Legal Battle! How fast they grow up. The legal details here are fairly mundane: a U.S. band also named One Direction is suing the British version, along with Simon Cowell’s record label and Sony Music, claiming that they had the name first — and even applied for a trademark*. The Americans are demanding $1 million-plus in damages, plus a name change from the Brits. None of that seems even remotely likely to happen, but congrats to Harry, Niall, Suspenders, Maroon Jacket Guy, and Guy No. 5 (we don’t know all the names yet). You’ve hit the big time!

* An earlier version of this post stated that the American One Direction tried to file a patent for the name.   Names get trademarks, not patents.

The British One Direction Is Being Sued by the California One Direction