March 03, 2010

By By Andre Paine, London

Former Sugababes member Mutya Buena has applied for ownership of the U.K. pop act's name, the BBC reports.

Buena was a founding member of the girl group who quit for a solo career in 2005. The current Sugababes line-up does not include any of the original members, which formed the group in 1998.

The BBC reports that Buena has applied to the European Trademarks Authority over the ownership of the name. Her request has been registered, but not yet approved. The claim was put forward by trademark and patent attorneys Kilburn and Strode LLP.

If successful, it lead to Buena owning the rights to use the Sugababes name on products, including CDs.

Keisha Buchanan, the last of the original members, departed last year prompting Buena to say the "Sugababes have ended because there are no original people remaining."

The act, which is signed to Island/Universal, releases new album "Sweet 7" on March 15.

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