Mika: free to travel to Belguim

The ongoing dispute between an act who has been called Mika for twenty-five years and the pop act Mika has had a day in court: The original Mika has failed to get "Grace Kelly" Mika banned from going to Belguim.

Victoria Newton sees this as some sort of moral victory:

Reggae Mika remains adamant that the other Mika should change his name.

She said: “I am not suing him for any money, but for the principle and my name.

“I had it registered in 1983. He is ruining my career.”

I think she’s taking the Mik.

While our Mika — real name Mica Penniman — is a worldwide star, she’s not even a household name in her own country.

Interesting approach to intellectual property from Newton, there: apparently it doesn't matter if you've registered a trademark, what's important is how effective the person infringing your copyright has been. Presumably she'd have been on the side of Goliath, too, on grounds that he was so much taller.