One Direction Countersues the Other One Direction

Not long ago, a California group called One Direction sued the chart-topping British boy band of the same name, accusing them of stealing their moniker.  Now, the U.K. One Direction has countersued, saying that the U.S. group stole their name.

Rolling Stone reports that a statement issued by a rep for Niall, Louis, Harry, Zaynand Liam states, "There is a dispute with a local group in Northern California about the ownership of the One Direction name in the U.S.  Despite One Direction’s management's attempts to resolve the situation amicably, the Californian group are continuing with their lawsuit claiming that they own the name in the U.S."

The statement goes on to say that the countersuit "makes it clear that it is One Direction who have prior rights to the name in the U.S., as it was One Direction who used the name in interstate commerce in the U.S. first."

In the original lawsuit filed by the California One Direction, they claimed that they'd been using the name since 2009 and the emergence of the British group has caused them "substantial confusion and substantial damage."