Following the uproar raised by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) group and the inevitable legal tangle that might occur, the new socio-political website Straits Times Review — run by former The Real Singapore editor Alex Tan — have rebranded itself as States Times Review.
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Hi all, I have changed the site name to States Times Review to avoid legal confrontations with The Straits Times.Also,...
Posted by States Times Review on Wednesday, 6 May 2015
(Also, the quote is from Batman Begins, not The Dark Knight)
Previously, SPH were mad that the new website borrows the name of their flagship newspaper, and were exploring all options — including legal recourse — over the alleged trademark infringement. The media giant informed Tan that the company has trademark right, goodwill and other related legal rights in the name "The Straits Times" and have asked him to refrain from using any such brand names in the future.
So deep is their aversion to the parallel that The Straits Times keep insisting in their reports that the former Straits Times Review has nothing to do with them.
Tan had initially believed that the term "Straits Times" was a general one and open for public naming, referring to the Malaysian newspaper New Straits Times. Being based in Australia, the website's name did not infringe any trademark or intellectual property rights there — he simply had to pay $120 to register the trademark for the former name of his site.
With the name change to States Times Review, it would seem that Tan wants to keep on the safe side; SPH after all has very deep pockets.
Photo: States Times Review website screengrab
Following the uproar raised by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) group and the inevitable legal tangle that might occur, the new socio-political website Straits Times Review — run by former The Real Singapore editor Alex Tan — have rebranded itself as States Times Review.
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));
Hi all, I have changed the site name to States Times Review to avoid legal confrontations with The Straits Times.Also,...
Posted by States Times Review on Wednesday, 6 May 2015
(Also, the quote is from Batman Begins, not The Dark Knight)
Previously, SPH were mad that the new website borrows the name of their flagship newspaper, and were exploring all options — including legal recourse — over the alleged trademark infringement. The media giant informed Tan that the company has trademark right, goodwill and other related legal rights in the name "The Straits Times" and have asked him to refrain from using any such brand names in the future.
So deep is their aversion to the parallel that The Straits Times keep insisting in their reports that the former Straits Times Review has nothing to do with them.
Tan had initially believed that the term "Straits Times" was a general one and open for public naming, referring to the Malaysian newspaper New Straits Times. Being based in Australia, the website's name did not infringe any trademark or intellectual property rights there — he simply had to pay $120 to register the trademark for the former name of his site.
With the name change to States Times Review, it would seem that Tan wants to keep on the safe side; SPH after all has very deep pockets.
Photo: States Times Review website screengrab