One Direction will be able to keep their name after settling a legal battle. Photo / AP
One Direction will be able to keep their name after settling a legal battle. Photo / AP
British boy band One Direction are allowed to keep their name following a legal dispute with an American group bearing the same moniker.
The One Thing hitmakers - made up of Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson - had been sued by the California-based punkgroup earlier this year, who claimed they had the name first.
However, Simon Cowell, head of the UK group's Syco record label - countersued the American band, accusing them of trying to "cash in" on the success of the What Makes You Beautiful singers.
But now the two acts have reached an agreement that allows them both to continue using the name, a deal everyone is pleased with.
The US One Direction had claimed to have been using the name since 2009 and applied to trademark the name long before the British band, who were put together by Simon on the UK edition of The X Factor in 2010.
Since forming on the reality TV show, the British One Direction have become worldwide superstars and their debut album, Up All Night was the first by a UK act to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 all-genre albums chart.
Their second album, Take Me Home, will be released in November.
