Pop group Westlife have lost their European court battle to have their name registered as an EU trademark.
Judges in the European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg today ruled that 'Westlife' could not be registered as a trademark because it was too similar to the word 'West', which is already a registered trademark.
'West' has been trademarked by a German tobacco firm, which uses the name for marketing music festivals, recording equipment, t-shirts and other goods and services.
Judges claimed that the fact that Germans pronounce 'west' as 'vest' did not lessen the confusion between the names and the similarity was likely to confuse the "average German consumer".
The ruling explained: "In those circumstances, there is a degree of aural similarity between the two (trade)marks, despite the presence of the 'life' element."
"The relevant public might think that the origin of the goods and services marketed under the Westlife mark is the same as that of the goods and services marketed under the West mark."
Westlife first applied for an EU trademark in 1999 but the German company objected claiming that, because both groups sell similar merchandise, confusion could arise.
The court's decision will not prevent Westlife from using their name on their merchandise. However, the name will not be protected as an exclusive trademark.
