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 2026

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

A development concerning Stephen Thaler’s AI copyright application in India and an integration between IPH group firms were also among the top talking points
As concerns around the little-known litigation tool increase, practitioners say they are educating their clients on how it can be most effective
Kilburn & Strode and Mewburn Ellis are just two firms that have invested heavily in office space – a sign that the legal industry is serious about in-person working
In major recent developments, Dyson snagged another win against Hong Kong-based competitor Dreame and a new AI-powered UPC platform was launched
Mohit and Sidhant Goel decided not to pursue an interim injunction application so that their client, Communications Components Antenna, could benefit from a fast-track trial
Anita Cade, head of Ashurst’s IP and media team in Australia, discusses why law firms that can pull together capability across different practice areas and jurisdictions stand to gain
INTA’s CEO says London-based firms have registered fewer delegates compared to past meetings in San Diego and Atlanta, and questions the 'ethics' of trying to participate without registering
Lobbies and interest groups are among the interveners in a major dispute over whether courts can set patent pool rates
Benoit Geurts and Coreena Brinck will help the firm ‘accelerate its innovation agenda’, according to its managing partner
News of a trademark row over Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ and Nokia’s expansion of its IoT licensing programme were also among the top talking points
Gift this article