Cult fried chicken chain Morley's immortalised in song by Stormzy wins High Court fight against 'copycat' competitor
Cult fried chicken chain Morley's immortalised in a song by rapper Stormzy has won a High Court battle with a 'copycat' competitor.
The Morley's fast-food chain has reached legendary status after its founding 40 years ago, having been championed by the south London rap star and other musicians.
The family-run chicken joint was referred to in Stormzy's 2015 track 'Wicked Skengman Part 4', while his 2017 video for 'Big for your Boots' was filmed inside one of its branches.
The chain also worked with writer and performer Corey Bovell for his one-man theatre show Chicken Burger N Chips, while another grime star, Krept, released a song entitled 'Morley's Freestyle' and used a prop of a Morley's store front on stage during a gig at the O2 Arena in 2019.
But the chain's iconic branding ended up at the centre of a very different stage over claims that a competitor had wrongly used signage too similar to the distinctive red and white, 'MMM... it tastes better', trade mark used by Morley's.
And it tasted victory last week when Judge Melissa Clarke ruled in favour of Morley's, holding that competitor Metro's '...It's the real taste' sign 'infringed the Morley's red and white mark'.
![The Morley's fast food chain has reached legendary status after its founding 40 years ago, having been championed by the south London rap star and other musicians](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/19/18/86330099-13547671-image-a-4_1718819800335.jpg)
The Morley's fast food chain has reached legendary status after its founding 40 years ago, having been championed by the south London rap star and other musicians
![Judge Clarke noted: 'In relation to music, he points to the British rap artist Stormzy, who referred to Morley's in the track "Wicked Skengman Part 4" of May 2015, and his music video for "Big for your Boots" which was filmed inside a Morley's in about February 2017'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/19/19/86330107-13547671-image-a-7_1718820001654.jpg)
Judge Clarke noted: 'In relation to music, he points to the British rap artist Stormzy, who referred to Morley's in the track "Wicked Skengman Part 4" of May 2015, and his music video for "Big for your Boots" which was filmed inside a Morley's in about February 2017'
In his evidence to the High Court, Morley's boss Shan Selvendran - son of founder Kannalingham Selvendran - said the 'iconic' chain was founded in 1985 and 'inspired by KFC.'
It began in the heart of south London's Sri Lankan community with a vision that its food should be 'for everyone and accessible to all', using the distinctive red and white trademark and 'Triple M' brand from day one.
By the time of his father's death, Shan Selvendran had built up around 40 Morley's shops, the court heard, with his mum at one point temporarily stepping in to take over the business until Mr Selvendran graduated and became chief executive in 2009.
The Morley's brand was now 'synonymous with fried chicken for everyone in south London', said Mr Selvendran, adding: 'everyone recognised the name of the famous Morley's burger and it was iconic'.
The chain currently has around 100 outlets and became an established part of the hip urban landscape when cutting edge musicians increasingly referenced the food shops in their works.
Judge Clarke noted: 'In relation to music, he points to the British rap artist Stormzy, who referred to Morley's in the track "Wicked Skengman Part 4" of May 2015, and his music video for "Big for your Boots" which was filmed inside a Morley's in about February 2017.
'Another artist, Krept, wrote a song called "Morley's Freestyle" in around 2019, shot the music video for the track outside a Morley's store, and used a full-sized prop of the Morley's store frontage on stage during his concert at the O2 Arena in 2019.
'His evidence is that he spoke to Stormzy in November 2023, who spoke about his childhood memories of Morley's for over an hour, growing up during the 2000s.'
![But the chain's iconic branding ended up at the centre of a very different stage over claims that a competitor had wrongly used signage too similar to the distinctive red and white, 'MMM... it tastes better', trade mark used by Morley's](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/19/18/86330121-13547671-image-a-5_1718819988717.jpg)
But the chain's iconic branding ended up at the centre of a very different stage over claims that a competitor had wrongly used signage too similar to the distinctive red and white, 'MMM... it tastes better', trade mark used by Morley's
![And it tasted victory last week when Judge Melissa Clarke ruled in favour of Morley's, holding that competitor Metro's '...It's the real taste' sign 'infringed the Morley's red and white mark'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/19/18/86330119-13547671-image-a-6_1718819995881.jpg)
And it tasted victory last week when Judge Melissa Clarke ruled in favour of Morley's, holding that competitor Metro's '...It's the real taste' sign 'infringed the Morley's red and white mark'
Giving evidence, Mr Selvendran told the court: 'He used the word 'heritage' and I always hear that word from people when talking about Morley's.
'Although I didn't appreciate it when I was younger, I now realised how important Morley's is (and was) to a huge number of people...people feel a connection with Morley's and view the brand as part of their life and heritage..'
He said Morley's had faced a 'constant battle with imitators', first locking horns with the boss of franchise Metro's, Kunalingham Kunatheeswaran, 14 years ago, when he learned that the latter had planned to use the name 'Mowley's' for the launch of a new food outlet.
Sketching out Morley's case, Judge Clarke explained: 'The (company) says that this is the latest episode in persistent copycat behaviour by Mr Kunatheeswaran since around 2010, during which time he has imitated and sought to ride on the coat-tails of the claimant's branding, in various shifting forms.'
Morley's took action against Mr Kunatheeswaran over use of signs on store fronts which it claimed were too similar to those trademarked by Morley's.
Ruling against Mr Kunatheeswaran, Judge Clarke said his chain strayed beyond the terms of a previous 2018 settlement deal restricting their signage to a blue bordered red banner rather than Morley's distinctive crimson red banner.
'Mr Kunatheeswaran and one of his franchisees also breached Morley's trademark by using the company's distinctive 'Triple M' slogan 'MMM' on shop windows and notice boards,' she said.
'The franchise defendants and Mr Kunatheeswaran have infringed the Morley's red and white mark.
'(He) is jointly and severally liable with the franchise defendants for their infringement of the Morley's red and white mark.
'The claimant is entitled to injunctive relief against those defendants who are still using the signs.'
A further hearing will take place at a later date to decide the exact details of the injunction.