Saturday, June 23, 2012 4:51am ET by  
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Simon Cowell countersues US One Direction over band name

Simon Cowell is to countersue the US band One Direction over the rights to the name in the States.

The American group sued the media mogul for £1 million in damages earlier this year after claiming he’d been made aware of them after lodging an application at the US Trademark Office.

However, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that the X-Factor boss’ Syco label and Sony Music Entertainment have launched counterclaims which argue that the US band "devised and perpetrated a scheme to exploit the goodwill" of their UK namesake.

The US One Direction had previously pointed to the fact that their 2011 debut album, 'The Light,' was released a year before the ‘One Thing’ stars had released theirs.

But Cowell’s team are now arguing that the boyband’s performances on The X-Factor were being circulated on YouTube as early as September 2010, confirming that they are the ones who are in danger of missing out on revenue due to confusion. 

 

 

 

Watch the US One Direction's video for '2012' below: