Branson’s Virgin wins a lawsuit against a Florida train firm that said it was a tarnished brand

LONDON (AP) — A British judge has ruled in favor of Richard Branson’s Virgin group in its lawsuit against a U.S. train company over a licensing agreement. Judge Mark Pelling ruled in favor of Virgin Enterprises, which had sued Florida passenger train operator Brightline Holdings for breaching an agreement to rebrand as Virgin Trains USA. The two firms struck a deal in 2018, but Brightline pulled out two years later. It claimed the Virgin brand was no longer one of “high repute.” Virgin sued at the High Court in London. Judge Mark Pelling ruled Thursday that Brightline had failed to prove that “continuing to use the Virgin label “would cause material damage to Brightline’s reputation or the value of its business.”