British boy band One Direction win name battle
Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson of One Direction look on from the sidelines during the ANZAC Test match between the New Zealand Kiwis and the Australian Kangaroos on April 20 in Auckland, New Zealand.
Fans of the teen pop group One Direction can breathe a sigh of relief. Their beloved British rockers will not have to change their name to Two Directions, or anything else for that matter.
Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson were sued by an American punk band, also called One Direction, who argued they came up with the name in 2009 – before the X Factor finalists even met, reports the Sun newspaper.
The American One Direction sued the British group for $1 million in damages and asked for a share of The X Factor stars' royalties, reports the BBC.
X Factor boss Simon Cowell hit back, accusing the American band of cashing in on the boy band's success and filed a counter suit in June.
The UK's Daily Mail reports that the two bands reached an agreement that allows the UK group to continue use of the name while the American band is changing theirs to Unchartered Shores.
The UK group formed on the ITV1 show the X Factor in 2010 when the judges put the boys together. The BBC reports that One Direction are the first UK group to enter the US Billboard 200 chart with a debut album at number one. The Beatles only managed to reach number two.
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