Club Night Name Protection

[ClubPromo]

Is there any acquired protection from using a Club Night name for a prolonged period of time ?

Say another company started running a night with the same name as mine in the same city as myself, do I have any legal recourse ? Or must I trademark the name in order to gain any sort of protection ?

Thanks

[SolsburyHill]

Trade mark rights can be established via use. Such rights are in the form of passing off rights which protect the 'goodwill' associated with a mark used in relation to a particular business. It would be better to register the name of your night, but you will have such common law rights in your locale which you could enforce against another trader (assuming you used it before them). Registered rights are easier to enforce, as you do not have to prove you own any form of goodwill.

Link to a sheet on the basics of trade marks:-

http://www.pinsentmasons.com/media/621204033.pdf

and on passing off:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passing_off