Our pals and your boyfriends in One Direction are being sued by an american boy band who claim rightful ownership on the name “One Direction”

Here is a picture of the US band One Direction -

An american band claims they have the right to the name One Direction and are suing the boys from the UK who share the name.

The U.S. One Direction just filed the lawsuit, claiming they formed in 2009, which is 1 year before the UK band members even met each other .

The American group also claim they also  filed a trademark application for “One Direction” long before their UK group.

Now, ”1DUSA” are asking for a court order — requiring the Brits to change their name.

The are also suing Simon Cowell’s record label and Sony Music — demanding more than $1 million in damages.

One Direction (UK) and Simon Cowell have yet to respond to the claim.

 

UPDATE: The 1DUSA group has posted this on their facebook page:

UPDATE REGARDING LEGAL DISPUTE WITH BRITISH BOY BAND
TO OUR FANS:
As we previously informed you, we have been drawn into a legal dispute with a British boy band, challenging our right to use our own name, One Direction. Now the dispute has escalated. Despite our best efforts, we were unable to negotiate a reasonable compromise with the “handlers” for the band. To protect our rights, we relucta…ntly have filed a lawsuit.
As a reminder, here are the facts, as we know them. We were the first to use the name One Direction. We have been using the name since November, 2009 when, with big dreams and no money, we started to distribute demo CDs. The British band did not come together as a group until almost a year later. We were the first to record an album. Ours was released in February 2011, theirs nine months later. We own the trademark One Direction in the United States and applied for a federal trademark registration in February, 2011. The British band has known about our use of the name since the spring of 2011, long before they released their first album. They chose not to use a different name. They chose to press ahead, using the exact same name, One Direction, setting up the current difficulties and confusion in the United States.
The British band started the legal dispute by having their lawyers appear before the United States Patent and Trademark Office to challenge our right to the name. The British boy band is well-funded and high-profile. They were “discovered” as contestants on Simon Cowell’s “X-Factor” show in England. They have Mr. Cowell’s enormous resources behind them. We on the other hand do not! In our view, we were here first. We have rights. We have talent, and we have heart. We are standing up for all of the above. Not having money does not take away your rights or make you “less than”!
As we have previously said, we like the British band and their music. We wonder if they even know what their “handlers” are up to. In any event, to the British band (Zayn, Harry, Niall, Liam, Louis), we wish you all well, and many years of success. You are a very talented group of young men. We urge our fans to respect the boys, their music, and their fans. There should be plenty of room for both bands to grow and thrive, and we hope that this dispute will be resolved soon, and then all of us can focus on what we do best – making music! Till then, as always, keep the faith!
– One Direction