Bit Parts

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a Florida federal district court's grant of a permanent injunction in favor of The Commodores music group barring former member Thomas McClary from using the band name. Commodores Entertainment Corp. v. McClary, 6:14-cv-01335. McClary left The Commodores in 1984, but in recent years toured as “Commodores Featuring Thomas McClary” and “The 2014 Commodores.” The group's general partnership agreement stated: “Upon the death or withdrawal of less than a majority of the Partners, the remaining majority of the Partners shall continue to have the right to use the Group Name for any purpose.” In the band's trademark suit against McClary, the appeals court found: “[T]he unrefuted record can lead only to the reasonable conclusion that McClary lacked control over the musical venture known as 'The Commodores' after he left the band to pursue his solo career. In the period after he left the band, save two performances as a fill-in guitarist in 2010, he did not meet with the other members of the group to rehearse or perform. He did not join the group to make business decisions about performance schedules or recordings. He stopped writing songs with the group. He was not involved with the group's decisions about performances, whether about the songs to be performed, the personnel to be involved, or the production details of the shows. The rights to use the name 'The Commodores' remained with the group after McClary departed, and the corollary is also true: McClary did not retain rights to use the marks individually.”