Judgement In Saxon Case

NEW YORK (Metal n' Hammer magazine) - The ongoing legal action between the original members of the band Saxon has finally resulted in a Judgement regarding the trademark.

Graham Oliver & Steve Dawson, now performing as Oliver/Dawson Saxon, have won the action brought against them by Biff Byford regarding the trademark to the name 'Saxon'. Byford tried to have the trademark invalidated on the grounds of Passing Off and Bad Faith, however the court found against him on both counts.
Oliver & Dawson were represented in the case by the manager of Oliver/Dawson Saxon, Rupert Withers, who despite having no legal qualifications, believed in the situation and acted as a litigant in person on their behalf.

The result of this case means that the trademark 'Saxon' is still owned by Graham Oliver & Steve Dawson. It proves that contrary to certain propaganda stories in the press, Oliver/Dawson Saxon have a legitimate claim to use the name.

The timing on the judgement is good, with Oliver/Dawson Saxon having just finished a very successful UK tour with Dio, and with 2003 being the 25th anniversary of Saxon. Oliver/Dawson Saxon intend to continue working hard and will be touring and recording again next year.
However this does not mean that Oliver/Dawson Saxon will be changing their name back to Saxon.
As Oliver & Dawson have maintained throughout the case, Saxon is the band made up of the original 5 members, and as such they are not attempting to confuse or mislead the fans into thinking that they are the same band.

Oliver/Dawson Saxon's new live DVD 'Rock has Landed' is coincidentally released this week by Angel Air Records.