{"id":2490,"date":"2024-09-04T21:21:08","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T21:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/the-guess-who-settle-lawsuit-over-trademark-rights-to-band-name\/"},"modified":"2024-09-04T21:21:08","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T21:21:08","slug":"the-guess-who-settle-lawsuit-over-trademark-rights-to-band-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/the-guess-who-settle-lawsuit-over-trademark-rights-to-band-name\/","title":{"rendered":"The Guess Who Settle Lawsuit Over Trademark Rights to Band Name"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\tThe members of 1960s rock band The Guess Who have settled a bitter trademark lawsuit in which two bandmates referred to a recent iteration of the group as nothing more than a \u201ccover band.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a statement, Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings said they had reached a deal to resolve their lawsuit against fellow original members Jim Kale and Garry Peterson \u2014 ending a legal battle among the four original members of the band best known for hits like \u201cAmerican Woman\u201d and \u201cThese Eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tUnder the deal, Bachman and Cummings said they will acquire full control over the trademark to the band\u2019s name. Monetary terms and other aspects of the agreement were not disclosed in the announcement, and no legal papers announcing the settlement have yet been filed in court.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe are pleased to have reached a resolution that honors our shared history and allows us to move forward with a new sense of purpose and camaraderie,\u201d Bachman said, with Cummings adding that they were \u201ccommitted to preserving and celebrating the legacy for our fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAttorneys for Kale and Peter didn\u2019t immediately return a request for comment. As recently as April, their attorneys called the lawsuit \u201ca complete farce\u201d and threatened to \u201chold Bachman and Cummings accountable for their wrongful and extortionate conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe battle between the members of The Guess Who was just the latest clash between bandmates over the legal rights to classic group names. Journey, Stone Temple Pilots and Jefferson Starship have all fought protracted litigation over their trademarks, as have members of The Rascals, The Ebonys, The Commodores and The Platters.<\/p>\n

\n\tSuch disputes often arise out of one question: Who truly constitutes the<\/em> band? Is it the members, or an LLC that owns the rights to the name? Is it the original lineup, or the one that produced the biggest hits? Does one key member and a bunch of replacements count? Fans, band members and lawyers will likely give you different answers.<\/p>\n

\n\tBachman and Cummings sued last year, claiming that Kale and Peterson were misleading the public by operating a \u201ccover band\u201d under the name The Guess Who. The case claimed that the rival band had never featured Bachman or Cummings, that Kale had retired in 2016 and that Peterson only rarely took the stage \u2014 but that the group had been falsely advertised as the real thing.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe lawsuit called the band a \u201cdeceptive scheme\u201d driven by Kale and Peterson\u2019s \u201cgreed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDefendants\u2019 false advertisements and marketing have led to confusion and outrage by fans and consumers, many of whom have taken to social media to share their experiences of being deceived into buying tickets to see the Cover Band because of advertising and promotion by Defendants implying that the Cover Band\u2019s live performances will include Plaintiffs,\u201d read the lawsuit filed by Bachman and Cummings.<\/p>\n

\n\tUnsurprisingly, Kale and Peterson saw things differently. In an April motion to dismiss the lawsuit, they pointed out that they owned the federal trademark registration for the name and called the lawsuit a \u201ccomplete farce\u201d \u2014 perpetrated by two former members who had left the band in the 1970s and whom nobody expected to see in the current lineup.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cConsumers who see an ad for a concert by The Guess Who would not reasonably assume that Bachman and Cummings are performing merely because they were in the band many years ago,\u201d Kale and Peterson\u2019s attorneys wrote. \u201cIt is common knowledge that bands often undergo membership changes and that few if any bands formed in the 1960s still have the same lineup today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tResponding to a lawsuit that called them a \u201ccover band,\u201d Kale and Peterson fired back with their own personal digs, painting Bachman and Cummings as spurned former members who were jealous of their ex-bandmates\u2019 ongoing success.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAfter all, that is what is really driving this lawsuit. Following their time in The Guess Who, Bachman and Cummings performed as solo artists or in other acts, but found less success than they apparently expected,\u201d read Kale and Peterson\u2019s response. \u201cAs a result, Bachman and Cummings have tried to take The Guess Who name for themselves, despite having left the band decades ago and Defendants carrying on the band\u2019s legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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