Yes, sir, you can boogie, rules judge in case against Gozo DJ

A judge refused to stop a disc jockey from calling an entertainment activity in Gozo Boogie Nights, a theme that a competitor claimed exclusive rights on.

Matthew Caruana asked the First Hall of the Civil Court, presided over by Mr Justice Joseph Zammit McKeon, to stop Joseph Zahra, alias DJ Commander Jay from using the theme Boogie Nights for the promotion of music and dance activities.

Mr Zahra argued that Mr Caruana held no exclusive rights over the words in issue.

Mr Caruana insisted that he had used the theme Boogie Nights for some time and had even applied to register the term with the Controller of Industrial Property as a trademark for use in his entertainment activities.

He complained to the court that Mr Zahra was using the same theme for a music and dance activity to be held in Gozo on Saturday.

Mr Justice Zammit McKeon noted that the Controller of Industrial Property had only accepted to register Mr Caruana’s trademark on the understanding that registration gave no exclusive right to the use of the words “boogie” and “nights” except as distinctively reproduced.

The use of the words Boogie Nights by Mr Zahra did not constitute unlawful competition against Mr Caruana, the judge ruled. Furthermore, Mr Zahra was advertising his proposed activity in Gozo with a logo that was totally different to that used by Mr Caruana.