Classic Hits Radio wins court order over ‘Greatest Hits’ brand

It comes after rival broadcasting group Choice Broadcasting, the owner of Classic Hits Radio and Radio Nova, won a temporary injunction against Bauer Media Audio Ireland from using the brand.

The injunction was granted by the High Court following an ex parte application by Choice Broadcasting, meaning that only one side was represented.

In an affidavit to the High Court making the application last Friday, its chief executive Kevin Branigan said Classic Hits was a well-established brand in the Irish radio market, having used it since 2011. He said it was on the Register of Trademarks.

There are currently 12-month trial licences being granted on the digital platform DAB+. Mr Branigan said he learned on May 5 that Bauer was making plans to broadcast on this platform using the name Greatest Hits Radio.

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“This was alarming news from [our] point of view because it seemed obvious to me, and to my fellow director Mike Ormonde, that if this happened the similarity of the two radio names – where the content offering was the same – was bound to cause confusion on the part of listeners,” Mr Branigan said in his affidavit.

“The plaintiff’s concern was that its brand would be diluted and that, as a result, it would suffer financial loss.”

The Choice Broadcasting boss said he set up a meeting with Chris Doyle, the managing director of Bauer in Ireland, which took place on May 22 and where he outlined the concerns. He said the meeting was amicable but did not resolve matters.

The pair then exchanged emails, in which Mr Doyle is said to have expressed the view that the confusion feared by Choice Broadcasting would not be an issue, and that one reason to push ahead with the trial station launch was that there was “no intention on our part to overtly commercialise the Greatest Hits Radio name at this point”.

Legal correspondence between the two sides ensued. According to Mr Branigan’s sworn statement, Bauer rejected a proposed solution, “dismissed [our] concerns and re-iterated its intention to use the name ‘Greatest Hits Radio’ for broadcasting”.

The station began broadcasting on the DAB+ multiplex last Monday.

Mr Branigan’s affidavit says: “The entire thrust of the plaintiff’s case is that the names Classic Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Radio are too similar and will cause confusion.”

Choice Broadcasting applied to the High Court on Friday. Justice Brian Cregan gave an order that Bauer was restrained from using the brand name Greatest Hits Radio on any delivery platform in the Republic of Ireland from 1pm today.

In a statement, Mr Branigan said it was regrettable that the issue had to get to this stage but his company felt it had no option but to stand up for what it had built and ensure its established radio brand was protected and respected.

While his company welcomed healthy competition, it had to protect its brand from “a foreign-owned radio group” imposing a brand that, he claimed, would cause “immense confusion” with Classic Hits Radio.

In a statement this morning, Bauer Media’s Mr Doyle said: “The brands Greatest Hits Radio and Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio are clearly different. We do not accept that any confusion will arise from the extension of our brand into the Irish market.

"We’re confident that our position will be vindicated by the court. Until then, for the current DAB+ trial, we will use GHR branding instead. We look forward to bringing the biggest songs of the 70s, 80s and 90s to Irish listeners under this iconic brand.”