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

With the US privacy landscape more fragmented and active than ever and federal legislation stalled, lawyers at Sheppard Mullin explain how states are taking bold steps to define their own regimes
Viji Krishnan of Corsearch unpicks the results of a survey that reveals almost 80% of trademark practitioners believe in a hybrid AI model for trademark clearance and searches
News of Via Licensing Alliance selling its HEVC/VCC pools and a $1.5 million win for Davis Polk were also among the top talking points
The winner of a high-profile bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery may gain a strategic advantage far greater than mere subscriber growth - IP licensing leverage
A vote to be held in 2026 could create Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, a $3.6bn giant with 3,100 lawyers across the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific
Varuni Paranavitane of Finnegan and IP counsel Lisa Ribes compare and contrast two recent AI copyright decisions from Germany and the UK
Exclusive in-house data uncovered by Managing IP reveals French firms underperform on providing value equivalent to billing costs and technology use
The new court has drastically changed the German legal market, and the Munich-based firm, with two recent partner hires, is among those responding
Consultation feedback on mediation and arbitration rules and hires for Marks & Clerk and Heuking were also among the major talking points
Nick Groombridge shares how an accidental turn into patent law informed his approach to building a practice based on flexibility and balancing client and practitioner needs
Gift this article