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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Samuel Osborne

Owner of Singhsbury's newsagents changes name to Morrisinghs after threat of legal action

The owner of Singhsbury's newsagents has changed the store's name to Morrisinghs after being threatened with legal action.

Jel Singh Nagra said he was accused of copyright infringement by Sainsbury's in 2012, with the threat of possible court action.

The 42-year-old from North Tyneside swiftly took down his signs, but locals continued to refer to the shop as Singhsbury's.

Nearly five years later, Mr Nagra's customers encouraged him to come up with a similar name and he settled on Morrisinghs. 

After nearly five years, Jel Singh Nagra settled on the name Morrisinghs (Morrisinghs/Facebook)

He told the Northern Echo: “A lot of the customers come in here for the banter more than the actual service.

“The sign makes us a talking point. They talk about it in the pubs and the clubs and the restaurants."

He added: “If I get asked to take this one down I will fight for it.”

He told Sky News: "We recently did a shop refit and I thought now is the time to do it. I had the name in my head for quite a while.

"There has been some negative feedback on social media, but it is a bit of fun and banter. We're British. This is us. We've always had this sense of humour."

He also said he was expecting another letter from a "heavy handed" legal team. 

A spokesperson for Sainsbury's said: "We were grateful to Mr Nagra for removing the sign."

A spokesman for Morrisons told Sky News the retail giant were happy for him to keep the name.

"Mr Nagra and his customers obviously have good taste so we wish him well."

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