Britain’s national newspaper, The Times, has been granted permission to open an Irish version of its website – under the title The Times (Ireland Edition).
The High Court yesterday approved the newspaper’s expansion, despite a potential block put in place by The Irish Times.
The new publication will create jobs for 30 journalists in Ireland and will be online only. It will take the same form as its British counterpart – which operates a paywall.
Last week, The Irish Times applied for an injunction against Times Newspapers London Ltd to prevent the newspaper group from opening under the name, which they deemed too similar to their own.
The injunction was applied for on the grounds that the title The Times (Ireland Edition) would infringe on the paper's trademark, confuse customers and damage its brand.
The Times counter-argued that the injunction should be dismissed as The Irish Times was nine months late in making the objection.
Judge John Hedigan sided with the British publication and granted the group permission to proceed with the expansion plans.
He said the move was "common knowledge" since September 2014.
Richard Oakley, who has been the working editor of the Irish version of The Times since January, said he was “delighted” with the ruling.
“We have rigorously defended our position and will now proceed to launch a seven-day digital newspaper of The Times and The Sunday Times for the Irish market,” he said.
“There is a clear gap in the Irish market for an exciting and innovative digital newspaper and we look forward to launching in the coming weeks.”
The Irish Times was successful earlier in the year in blocking the British Times from using the name ‘The Times Ireland’ for its expansion.
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