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Band-Name Fights May Trigger Lengthy Battles

By Stan Soocher

The recent high-profile litigation over rights to 'Supernova' was the latest example of the common hot-button issue of who may ex-ploit a band's name. The 'Super-nova' dispute was settled with the original pop-punk group of that name agreeing that the marquee band from the CBS-TV talent-series will be able to perform as 'Rock Star Supernova.' In 2004, South Carolina became the first state to enact a 'Truth in Musical Advertising' statute to regulate the use of music-group names, at least in live performances. Since then, at the urging of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, several other states ' including Connecticut, Illinois, Pennsylvania and North Dakota ' have enacted similar laws. The goal of these statutes generally is to prevent the 'false, deceptive or misleading affiliation, connection or association' between a recording group and a performing group. But issues of contractual or service-mark rights may need to be resolved before a 'Truth in Musical Advertising Statue' may be enforced.

Sorting out contractual claims to band names can be a messy and sometimes lengthy. The nearly four-decade fight over the name 'Moby Grape,' a 1960s San Francisco rock group, is a case in point. The band formed in 1966 but released its last studio album with some original members in 1971. It wasn't until July 2006 that the California Court of Appeal ruled that the band, rather than the group's original manager, Matthew Katz, owned the Moby Grape name. Lewis v. Katz, A111654.

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