Liberty X

The five winning contestants formed a pop group called Hear'Say[?], and the five runners up (who would have been the "backup" had something gone wrong with Hear'Say) later formed the group Liberty, the name being intended to reflect the freedom they supposedly enjoy from rigid record company control (in contrast to Hear'Say); however, their runner-up status led to them being dubbed "Flopstars" by some commentators.

After a few months Liberty received a legal challenge in the UK High Court from another pop group called Liberty which had had a few minor hits in the 1980s. Liberty (original) claimed that Liberty (now X) were taking advantage of the goodwill that they had created in the name Liberty (which in English Law is the tort of passing off[?]). The judge agreed with (the original) Liberty and so the new group renamed themselves as Liberty X.

Liberty have sunk back into obscurity while Liberty X continue (in 2002) to have a successful career.