The Scottish media company, which holds the Grampian and Scottish licences, took its case to the High Court yesterday, claiming that it is seeking to protect the interests of smaller ITV franchises.
The court did not award an injunction, but agreed an undertaking that Carlton Communications and Granada will pay compensation to the smaller ITV companies if it is found that they do not have the right to use the name after their merger.
A spokesman for SMG said: "The ITV brand is the collective property of all the franchises and we do not believe any of us has the right simply to adopt it as our own."
SMG claimed that the name was in danger of being hijacked by Carlton and Granada, and that it was not prepared to watch them ride roughshod over the interests of smaller franchises, which also include UTV in Northern Ireland.
"The ITV brand is the collective property of all the ITV franchises and we do not believe that any of us has the right to simply adopt it as our own," a spokesman for the media group, which also owns Virgin Radio, said.
The legal action by SMG indicates earlier claims by Carlton and Granada that their relationship with other ITV franchises was good were wide of the mark.
Granada is SMG's largest shareholder with a 17% stake.
The merged ITV will become official from February 2, but the new structure is unlikely to be in place before June.
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