Classic Hits radio fails to prevent rival from using brand name GHR
High Court reporters
The High Court has refused an injunction preventing a rival broadcaster to the Classic Hits Radio station owners from using the brand name "GHR".
Choice Broadcasting Ltd, which is part of a group behind Radio Nova and Sunshine 106.8, owns Classic Hits Radio. The overall parent is Bay Broadcasting Ltd and it has been broadcasting as "Ireland's Classic Hits Radio" for the last three years.
GHR is a brand name by Bauer Audio Ireland Ltd, part of the 150-year-old Germany-headquartered Bauer family company, which manages a portfolio of eight FM radio stations in Ireland including Today FM, Newstalk, 98FM, Spin 1038, Spin South West, Cork’s Red FM, iRadio and Beat.
Along with GHR, Bauer also owns the brands “Greatest Hits Radio”, both of which it launched in the United Kingdom in 2019. Bauer says these are part of its brands to its more contemporary “Hits Radio Network” radio service.
The GHR Network of stations in the UK have a combined weekly reach of 7.1 million listeners and includes over 50 local and regional radio stations.
On June 20th, Choice obtained an interim injunction preventing Bauer using the name “Greatest Hits Radio” on the Failte DAB+ multiplex and any other delivery platform that is available in the Republic of Ireland. Choice claimed Greatest Hits Radio would infringe the plaintiff’s trademark, “Classic Hits”.
When the case returned to court a few days later, Bauer said it would not seek to contest the injunction but would instead seek an early hearing of the entire matter.
It also said, instead of Greatest Hits Radio, it intended to trade using the initials “GHR”, both in its announcements and jingles on the radio station, and in its logo and advertising until the trial of the action.
Choice objected, and there followed a hearing of the issue of extending the injunction to cover the use of GHR, which was strongly contested by each side.
On Wednesday, Mr Justice Brian Cregan ruled the terms of the injunction do not include the initials “GHR”.
He found Choice had not made out a fair issue to be tried that the initials “GHR” amounted to passing off its brand or that there was a fair issue to be tried in relation to alleged infringement of trademark.
Even if it had, the balance of justice would have been in favour of refusing the application to extend the injunction to “GHR”, he said.
The judge also said that even if he had found in favour of Choice in relation to fair issue and balance of convenience, he would have considered its (Choice's) undertaking that it could pay damages if it lost the case not to be sufficient on its own.
This was in circumstances where the evidence showed Choice is "balance sheet insolvent" and has created a charge over all of its assets, he said. He would therefore have concluded that a fortified undertaking as to damages from Choice's parent company was required.
He said he would hear the parties later in relation to the fortified damages undertaking.