Spoof BBC website removed, after Managing IP interview

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Spoof BBC website removed, after Managing IP interview

A mock BBC website that posted spoof stories about celebrities and MPs was taken down yesterday after its owner became concerned about trade mark and copyright infringement

Andrew Firth, who registered www.news-bbc.net as part of a murder mystery game in October 2009, was contacted by Managing IP earlier in the week. He then removed it on Wednesday.

Firth said he started the site "on a whim". But he became worried that the BBC would send him a cease and desist letter about the site, which replicated the corporation's trade mark and colours, and gave the impression that it was owned by them.

One story reported that television presenter Phillip Schofield had been kidnapped, while another rumoured that former Prime Minister Gordon Brown had been involved in affair with Conservative MP Anne Widdecombe.

Firth, who works in internet marketing in York, said the stories were chosen at random in order to fill the site and make it appear legitimate. But he said he had forgotten about it until this week, despite originally intending to take it down some time ago.

A spokesman for the BBC said that no action would be taken as the site had been taken down.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Tilleke & Gibbins topped the leaderboard with four awards across the region, while Anand & Anand and Kim & Chang emerged as outstanding domestic firms
News of a new addition to Via LA’s Qi wireless charging patent pool, and potential fee increases at the UKIPO were also among the top talking points
The keenly awaited ruling should act as a ‘call to arms’ for a much-needed evolution of UK copyright law, says Rebecca Newman at Addleshaw Goddard
Lawyers at Lavoix provide an overview of the UPC’s approach to inventive step and whether the forum is promoting its own approach rather than following the EPO
Andrew Blattman, who helped IPH gain significant ground in Asia and Canada, will leave in the second half of 2026
The court ordering a complainant to rank its arguments in order of potential success and a win for Edwards Lifesciences were among the top developments in recent weeks
Frederick Lee has rejoined Boies Schiller Flexner, bolstering the firm’s capabilities across AI, media, and entertainment
Nirav Desai and Sasha S Rao at Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox explore how companies’ efforts to manage tariffs by altering corporate structures can undermine their ability to assert their patents and recover damages
Monika Żuraw, founder of Żuraw & Partners, discusses why IP should be part of the foundation of a business, and taking on projects that others walk away from
Lawyers say attention will turn to the UK government’s AI consultation after judgment fails to match pre-trial hype
Gift this article