The Irish Times has begun High Court proceedings against Times Newspapers Ltd of London over the proposed use by the UK company of the title The Times Ireland, for a planned new digital daily news publication.

According to The Irish Times' case, use of the proposed title amounts to a breach of its copyright.

Senior Counsel, Jonathan Newman told the court that The Irish Times had taken this action because of the "potential for confusion" that the name could cause - which he describes as "enormous."

The Dublin-based newspaper hopes to stop The Times using the web domaines www.thetimesireland.ie and www.timesireland.ie.

The court heard that the new venture will be a daily online publication, targeted specifically at the Irish market and paid for as part of a seven-day subscription package with The Sunday Times.

John Walshe, former business editor of the Irish Examiner has been hired by Times Newspapers to edit the new publication.

In a statement, a spokesperson for News UK & Ireland told Newstalk: "Ireland has a rich tradition of strong and respected journalism and we are very excited and proud to be bringing our proposition to market.

"We have hired some of Ireland's most renowned journalists in the new team and it will build on the rich heritage we have already established in the Irish market. We will be launching our new offering for our Irish audience in due course and in the meantime, we will seek to address any concerns The Irish Times has," they added.

Mr Newman commented that lawyers acting for Times Newspapers, wrote to The Irish Times, and said that there is no basis for imposing an injunction against the use of the name.