£100m Hollywood f ilm chiefs gunning for tiny Scots tailor
ONE is a Hollywood spy-movie franchise worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The other is a tiny clothes shop in Falkirk.
Yet the two have clashed over a name.
Producers of the Kingsman blockbusters starring Colin Firth are threatening legal action against Patricia and Andrew Walker, owners of Scottish clothing shop Kingsman Menswear.
Lawyers representing movie giant Marv Films have written to the couple demanding they change the name of their business immediately, arguing it breaches copyright laws.
The couple, who opened the store 11 months ago, claim never to have seen the film. However, they acknowledge they will have to change but say the cost of rebranding could threaten their business.
Last night, Mrs Walker said: ‘We thought Kingsman was quite good and quite a regal name. We’d heard there was a movie which I’d not seen. I was shocked when we got a letter telling us to change the name or face being shut down. There seems to be no way to win this, as they have money to make us do it.’
In 2014, Kingsman: The Secret Service grossed £100 million in box office sales and the sequel, The Golden Circle, is in cinemas now. Both are set in a tailor’s shop and the characters are conspicuously well-groomed, which inspired director Matthew Vaughn to create a menswear collection of his own.
Mrs Walker, who works as a nurse, said: ‘It’s a new business and we’ve put all our money into it. It was very expensive to set up.
‘We’ve been really stressed about it as we never expected to come to the attention of Marv Films.’
In August, law firm Bird & Bird sent the Walkers a 23-page letter stating the shop’s name infringed Marv’s copyright. It said: ‘Marv will inevitably succeed should it be necessary to bring proceedings against you for trade mark infringement.’ In response, the couple shut the shop’s website – but the lawyers demanded a complete rebrand.
Mr Walker said: ‘It’s going to cost us a lot of money now – money we don’t really have.’