Photo Credit: Ultra Records
A federal judge rules that Patrick Moxey’s Ultra Music Publishing must change its name within six months for breaching Sony Music’s ‘Ultra’ trademark.
Ultra Music Publishing, owned by Patrick Moxey, who founded Ultra Records in 1995, is going to have to change its name. A jury found the company breached the “Ultra” trademark owned by Sony Music since Moxey signed away his rights to the name — he sold his remaining stake in Ultra Records to Sony Music in 2021.
Sony brought the lawsuit against Ultra Music Publishing in 2022 with the assertion that Moxey, who founded the publishing company in 2004, no longer had rights to the trademark since selling them his stake in the Ultra label. Lawyers for Sony (and Ultra Records) argued the label had licensed the Ultra trademark to Moxey’s publishing company, but since the license was terminated in 2022, the publishing company was continuing to use the trademark in bad faith.
Ultimately, the jury agreed, determining the Ultra trademark was distinctive. Therefore, Ultra Music Publishing’s continued use of the name and trademark was misleading, and “likely to dilute [Ultra Records’] ‘Ultra’ trademark.”
The jury also found that Moxey’s publishing company’s use of the trademark, while in breach of license, was unlikely to cause confusion among the publisher’s customers. As a result, Ultra Records suffered no damages from Ultra Music Publishing’s breach of the license. The jury awarded no damages or legal costs to Sony.
While the trademark case is over, Moxey’s legal battle with Sony Music is not. In November, Moxey’s Ultra International Music Publishing and Ultra Music Publishing Europe sued Sony Music Entertainment and its subsidiaries (which include Ultra Records).
The lawsuit stems from allegations of copyright infringement, asserting Sony and its subsidiaries were using Ultra Publishing’s compositions without a license. Sony has asked a judge to toss the lawsuit, calling the whole thing an act of retaliation over the trademark suit.
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.