Daily Mail and Evening Standard publisher Associated, is seeking an injunction on the name "The Mail", following reports that Desmond is set to call his new daily freesheet the Evening Mail or London Evening Mail.
The paper is set to be distributed free across London, and would challenge the dominance of Associated's Evening Standard and its freesheet The Metro.
Associated claims that Desmond is trying to link his new paper to its mid-market tabloid newspapers the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. It is arguing that the name will confuse advertisers and readers and lead to a loss of advertising revenues, affect editorial control, and the independence and style of the Mail.
Desmond has denied that a name has been decided on for the new title and is arguing that Associated has no trademark rights over the name "The Mail". He has also pointed to the example of long-established titles such as the Birmingham Evening Mail and Scottish title the Sunday Mail, both owned by Trinity Mirror, where two titles with similar names co-exist in the same market.
Simon Thorley QC, acting on behalf of Associated, said this was not about "confusion between two long-standing newspapers, one national and the other provincial".
"It is about a publishing group and an unknown product designed to compete with two quasi-national newspapers, the Metro and the Evening Standard," he said.
The trial begins today and is expected to run for three days. It is the latest episode in a long running feud between the rival publishers.
To date, Associated has threatened to launch a daily tabloid to rival Desmond's Star, while Desmond complained to the Office of Fair Trading about Associated's monopoly over distribution points at London's rail stations sparking an inquiry.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
