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Two Bands Bicker Over 'One Direction' Name

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish. And this is One Direction.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHAT MAKES YOU BEAUTIFUL")

CORNISH: The latest boy band success story - five guys with cute hair, matching outfits with suspenders - and they're British to boot.

SIEGEL: They have topped the Billboard charts and been endorsed by one of the harshest critics in reality TV.

SIMON COWELL: You are the most exciting pop band in the country today.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHEERING)

SIEGEL: Simon Cowell.

COWELL: I'm being serious.

CORNISH: One Direction is, in fact, a creation of Simon Cowell on his British show "The X Factor." Now, they've come stateside.

SIEGEL: And not everyone in the U.S. is pleased with the arrival of One Direction. Namely, four guys in a California pop-rock group called One Direction.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DREAMING")

SIEGEL: This One Direction has been around since 2009.

CORNISH: And this week, the band sued its British rival and the record label for trademark infringement.

SIEGEL: In a lawsuit filed earlier this week, attorneys for the American band claim the name causes, quote, "substantial confusion." One case in point: NBC's "Today Show" broadcast the faces of the British One Direction while playing the music of the American One Direction.

CORNISH: Awkward.

SIEGEL: The American band points out in a statement that it doesn't have the enormous resources of the British band, but it says: We have rights. We have talent, and we have heart. We are standing up for all of the above. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.