Singh wins Taxiride trade mark band divorce

March 26, 2024 - After a two-and-a-half-year battle Jason Singh, front man, lead vocalist, and crowd favourite of the chart topping ARIA award winning Australian band TAXIRIDE, has triumphed and emerged victorious in his trade mark battle against fellow band members, Tim Watson and Tim Wild.

Singh defeated Wild and Watson in their attempt to claim the TAXIRIDE trade mark for themselves by excluding Singh from the band that he helped make famous from 1999. The win, delivered by IP Australia on February 22, 2024, was emphatic and comprehensive, affirming Singh's joint ownership rights to the trade mark.

Singh said: "This has been an unnecessary, costly, two-and-a-half-year battle. I'm still in the dark as to what prompted this ill-fated takeover by Wild and Watson; especially after I worked so hard on bringing the band back together in 2015. Since 2021 Wild and Watson have cut me out and cut me off from the band's commercial decisions. There have been numerous shows that were booked and promoted as Taxiride without me and without my consent."

Wild and Watson have played sporadic shows as Taxiride without Singh since October 2021. This was also while they locked Singh out of the band's social media pages, bank accounts and websites, and blocked legions of loyal fans for speaking their minds at their antics and treatment of Singh.

"All the good times are in the background for me now, unfortunately. And it's just all the hurt that surfaces for me every time I see what they're attempting to do," Singh said.

The IP Australia decision in Jason Singh v Tim Watson & Tim Wild [2024] ATMO 33, underscores key findings. In paragraph 42, the Trade Mark Registrar's Delegate states, "On my assessment of the evidence, the Applicants [Tim Watson and Tim Wild] are not the owners of the Trade Mark."  This is reinforced in the final paragraph of the Delegate's decision, at paragraph 49 "I find that the Applicants [Tim Watson and Tim Wild] are not the owners of the Trade Mark."

The Delegate also found at paragraph 48 "There is clear evidence that the Opponent [Singh] and the Applicants [Watson & Wild] jointly owned and used the Trade Mark for many years, and I do not consider that the 2 hour phone conversation between the Opponent and Mr Watson erases that long history. In my opinion, the Opponent's lack of interest in performing with the Applicants does not amount to an abandonment of the Trade Mark, a mark which he jointly owned with others for many years, nor does it amount to consent to the Applicants performing under the Trade Mark. Whether or not a partnership between the Applicants and Opponent still existed at the Relevant Date, the Trade Mark and any other assets of the partnership are still jointly held by the individuals and cannot simply be seized by the Applicants [Watson and Wild]." (bold added)

Further, the Delegate found at paragraph 44: "After, Mr Hall left the Band in 2017, the Second Registered Partnership formed comprising the Opponent [Singh] and Applicants [Watson and Wild] . It is apparent that at that time, the Opponent and Applicants were in agreement that the Trade Mark was jointly owned by the three of them as a partnership. Around this time, the parties entered into the 2017 Agreement which provided that no partner could use the Trade Mark if performing outside the partnership but could use descriptions such as 'Partner name from Taxiride' or 'Taxiride's Partner name'. Although the term of the 2017 Agreement ended in December 2017, this does not mean that the Trade Mark was no longer jointly owned by the Opponent and Applicants. In particular, the non-compete clause continued to have effect after December 2017 as the purpose of such a clause is to protect the Intellectual Property (and other assets) of the business or partnership once the contractual obligations are no longer applicable …"

In response to the decision, Singh expressed his satisfaction, stating, "I am pleased with the outcome and grateful for the recognition of my rights to the Taxiride trade mark. While this decision reaffirms my longstanding association with the brand and recognises my rightful ownership, this victory is not something I want to celebrate. I am just so hurt and disappointed that this ever happened, not just for me but for the fans."

"The whole thing is on the public record now and everyone can see now what I've been dealing with for so long,"  Singh said.

The Delegate's decision serves as a testament to Singh's unwavering commitment to protecting his intellectual property rights and underscores the importance of clarity and fairness in band trade mark disputes and band divorces.

#ENDS#