Way back in the 90s a writer called Mr Knight published several books for children under the title “Mythbusters”. The books (rather unsurprisingly) involved investigating common myths for primary school children. He tried (and failed) to sell the concept to various TV companies but to no avail, and the series faded from view.
Then in 2002 a TV company called Beyond Properties Pty Limited made a show for what is now known as the “lads and dads” market under the name “Mythbusters” investigating improbable events. Mr Knight objected to what he saw as unauthorised use of his product’s name and reputation and sued for passing off.
He lost, and the case just goes to show that the use of a name will not automatically engender sufficient goodwill so as to preclude later use of that name or mark by another party. How much goodwill or reputation you had in the first place will depend on the facts of each case – and Mr Knight didn’t have enough. The court held his reputation to have been “minor” when the books were in schools, and to have dwindled to “trivial” by 2002. Plus – he was writing for children, and the TV show was aimed at adults.
If you want to protect a name like “Mythbusters”, just in case someone in the future wants to use it for their TV show, register it as a trademark. This will bar further use of the same name or title in respect of similar or even dissimilar goods and services in perpetuity (as long as you remember to renew). If they want it – they’ll have to pay you for a licence for it.
If you require any further information about
Intellectual Property or
Media related issues, please contact our IP specialist,
Lucy Morgan of Follett Stock either by email at
lucy.morgan@follettstock.co.uk, or by telephone on 01872 241700 or any other member of our IP team.
Email Lucy 
