Sky News Australia has lodged six brand names with IP Australia as it prepares to lose the rights to the Sky name in December. The trademarks include Australian News Channel, Australian Agenda, Agenda, Australia Channel, Australian Election Channel, and Lefties Losing It, a program hosted by Rita Panahi. The network, owned by News Corp, must rebrand after a 10-year deal with UK Sky News expires.
Fashion retailer Zara has objected to the trademark for Lefties Losing It, citing its established brand LEFTIES. Zara argues that LEFTIES offers accessible, contemporary fashion for all. The outcome of the trademark dispute is pending.
In a separate controversy, Aaron Patrick, chief writer at The Nightly, faced backlash for an opinion piece about Liberal leader Sussan Ley. Originally titled 'Why I wouldn’t marry Sussan Ley', the article was criticised as sexist by female politicians and journalists. The headline was later changed to 'Sussan Ley has some explaining to do'.
Patrick has a history of contentious remarks about female journalists. In 2021, he wrote a piece about Samantha Maiden that was condemned as bullying. He was also arrested in 2022 on an animal cruelty charge, of which he was acquitted. The Nightly's editor defended the article as legitimate political criticism.
