Janice R. Andrews
Google has won a significant legal victory in the UK High Court regarding its YouTube Shorts feature. Shorts International, a British film channel that owns the UK trademark for “shorts,” had challenged Google’s right to use the term, but their claim was unsuccessful.
In his ruling, Justice Michael Tappin determined that Google’s usage of “shorts” wouldn’t confuse viewers about content origin. While acknowledging that some British consumers might make a mental connection between the two brands, he concluded that YouTube’s use neither damaged Shorts International’s reputation nor diminished their trademark’s distinctiveness.
Since its 2020 debut, YouTube Shorts has emerged as a major competitor to TikTok in the short-form video space. The platform, which allows videos up to three minutes in length, has built a substantial audience, attracting over 1.5 billion monthly users within its first two years.
