Livin Joy' frontwoman Tameko Star wins legal battle over name trademark

Eurodance vocalist Tameko Star has won a legal battle to secure the trademark for Livin' Joy with the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO), after the group's current vocalist Luzahnn Taylor, dropped her claim over its naming rights.

The US-born frontwoman grew to prominence in the '90s as a member of Livin' Joy, joining the group in 1996 following the departure of Janice Robinson, who provided the vocals for the group's biggest hit 'Dreamer' — which was released in 1994.

Alongside Italian siblings and production duo, Gianni Visnadi and Paolo Visnadi, Star is known for her work on singles 'Don't Stop Movin'', 'Where Can I Find Love' and 'Follow The Rules' — which were included in Livin' Joy's debut album 'Don't Stop Movin''.

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A second, untitled Livin' Joy album was recorded with Star as a member, but was never released due to a label merger – despite later being leaked online.

According to a statement shared via Livin' Joy's official Instagram page today (October 21), Star has been in a "lengthy" legal battle against Luzahnn Taylor, who she discovered had been peforming under the Livin' Joy moniker. 

A legal representative for Star told Mixmag that the Visnadi brothers had "never approved" of these performances 

Star later filed a case with Intellectual Property Office Tribunal case under Sections 47(1) and 47(2)(b) of the UK Trade Marks Act.

According to a report from The Express in 2022, Taylor had undertaken pefromances in the UK at Mighty Hoopla and Back to the '90s under the Livin' Joy name, alongside launching Facebook and Instagram pages declaring herself as "Livin' Joy Official". 

In the accompanying interview, Robinson had added that she felt Taylor's claim to Livin' Joy was "an injustice", telling The Express that the former vocalists were "victims of a type of artists street identity theft."

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In a statement to Mixmag, Star shared her "joy" at the ruling: ''The UK IPO has ruled in my favour, declaring the previous Livin’ Joy registration invalid — clearing the way for me to protect and perform under the name I built my career on.

Read Tameko Star's full statement, below. 

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter