Most of you would be familiar with the U2 song “Where the Streets Have No Name“. Now according to the BBC ( http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-44088403 ), it’s a case of “Where the bands have the same name” for Elijah Hewson, son of U2 frontman, Bono. Hewson is a member of a four piece band called INHALER (INHALER IE) which is in a dispute with a UK band from Hertfordshire also called INHALER (INHALER UK).
INHALER UK asserts that the Irish band stole the name and that it was set up in 2014 and performed its first gig in 2015. The UK band also claims to have acquired an online following as a result of its performances but that now when one searches online for the band INHALER, the searcher is directed to the Irish band.
INHALER IE claims that it chose the name INHALER having conducted internet searches and that the searches did not make any reference to the UK band.
To avoid these types of disputes, in addition to searching the internet, it is always advisable to conduct trade mark searches to establish that your chosen band/brand name is free for use and then protect that name by trade mark registration in the markets of interest. If INHALER UK had registered its name as a trade mark, it would be for Elijah Hewson, a matter of “I still haven’t found what I am looking for” as the band would need a different name.
Carla MacLachlan