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     *Motown legends The Four Tops won a legal battle Friday when a British judge ordered a rival group to stop performing under the band's name, a rep for the group told us.      

       High Court judge Nicholas Warren said in his ruling that singer Viscount Oliver Miller must stop performing and recording under the name Viscount Oliver's Legendary Four Tops.       

       The judge also declared invalid the trademark "Viscount Oliver's American Dream The Legendary Four Tops," which Miller has used to promote dates by his Four Tops tribute act across Britain. Publicity materials were causing venue managers and the public to be misled into believing that his group was or was associated with the real Four Tops

       Miller, who was ordered to pay damages, had never been a member of the original Four Tops, nor had he ever recorded with the group.      

       "Today's ruling was important for The Four Tops because it permitted them to protect their legacy in the U.K.," said The Four Tops' British lawyer, Adam Robertson.

       A legitimate Four Tops lineup, including original member Abdul "Duke" Fakir, still performs and is currently touring Britain with fellow Motown act The Temptations.