Taxiride co-founder Jason Singh has won a two-year legal battle against fellow bandmates Tim Watson and Tim Wild over the Taxiride Trade Mark.
In a court ruling, Tracey Berger, Hearing Officer, Delegate if the Registrar of Trade Marks, has concluded that, “On my assessment of the evidence, the Applicants [Tim Watson and Tim Wild] are not the owners of the Trade Mark.”
The Delegate also stated at paragraph 48 of the ruling in the case, Jason Singh v Tim Watson & Tim Wild [2024] ATMO 33, “There is clear evidence that the Opponent [Singh] and the Applicants [Watson & Wild] jointly owned and used the Trade Mark for many years, and I do not consider that the 2 hour phone conversation between the Opponent and Mr Watson erases that long history. In my opinion, the Opponent’s lack of interest in performing with the Applicants does not amount to an abandonment of the Trade Mark, a mark which he jointly owned with others for many years, nor does it amount to consent to the Applicants performing under the Trade Mark. Whether or not a partnership between the Applicants and Opponent still existed at the Relevant Date.”
The Delegate went into great detail about the history if Taxiride stating at paragraph 44: “After, Mr Hall left the Band in 2017, the Second Registered Partnership formed comprising the Opponent [Singh] and Applicants [Watson and Wild] . It is apparent that at that time, the Opponent and Applicants were in agreement that the Trade Mark was jointly owned by the three of them as a partnership. Around this time, the parties entered into the 2017 Agreement which provided that no partner could use the Trade Mark if performing outside the partnership but could use descriptions such as ‘Partner name from Taxiride’ or ‘Taxiride’s Partner name’. Although the term of the 2017 Agreement ended in December 2017, this does not mean that the Trade Mark was no longer jointly owned by the Opponent and Applicants. In particular, the non-compete clause continued to have effect after December 2017 as the purpose of such a clause is to protect the Intellectual Property (and other assets) of the business or partnership once the contractual obligations are no longer applicable …”
Following the ruling Jason Singh said, “This has been an unnecessary, costly, two-and-a-half-year battle. I’m still in the dark as to what prompted this ill-fated takeover by Wild and Watson; especially after I worked so hard on bringing the band back together in 2015. Since 2021 Wild and Watson have cut me out and cut me off from the band’s commercial decisions. There have been numerous shows that were booked and promoted as Taxiride without me and without my consent.”
In response to the decision, Singh added, “I am pleased with the outcome and grateful for the recognition of my rights to the Taxiride trade mark. While this decision reaffirms my longstanding association with the brand and recognises my rightful ownership, this victory is not something I want to celebrate. I am just so hurt and disappointed that this ever happened, not just for me but for the fans.”
“The whole thing is on the public record now and everyone can see now what I’ve been dealing with for so long,” Singh said.
Jason Singh is currently touring 25 Years of Taxiride. Watch the Noise11 interview here:
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