Tuesday 9 June 2015

What’s In A Name? Disputes Over Band Names with Glenn Duker, Lawyer and Solicitor

Hybrid Theory, Verve, The New Yardbirds and Mookie Blaylock. Four very popular bands found on many a music fan’s playlists the world over. No, really. You will have heard of them. That’s because these are the original names of these four popular bands before legal action forced them to change to the one we now all know and love. Find out just who these bands became, with specialist trademark lawyer and solicitor Glenn Duker.

Glenn Duker
Hybrid Theory

This band went by the name Hybrid Theory until a fellow US based band called Hybrid kicked up a fuss and threatened legal action. They considered several other monikers including Clear, Probing Lagers, Ten PM Stocker and Platinum Lotus Foundation before settling on Lincoln Park. Unfortunately the band at that point couldn’t afford the lincolnpark.com domain name for their website so they changed the spelling and Linkin Park was born.

The New Yardbirds

James Patrick Page was guitarist for a band called The Yardbirds between 1966 and 1968, replacing Eric Clapton and performing alongside Jeff Beck. After the band split in 1968, Page decided to form his own, which he called The New Yardbirds. He received a cease and desist order from former bandmate Chris Dreja, forcing Page to change the name of the band. Page complied, and that was how Led Zeppelin came to be.

Verve

After famous jazz label Verve caught wind of a British band using the same name, they sought legal action that resulted in the band simply adding the word The to their name. And so The Verve was born.

Mookie Blaylock

This Seattle band took their name from that of NBA player Mookie Blaylock and named their first album Ten after his jersey number. Unfortunately Blaylock the player was still very much active in basketball, therefore his name was considered a brand which meant Mookie Blaylock the band had to change their name. They changed to Pearl Jam, and haven’t looked back since.

Lawyer and solicitor Glenn Duker specialises in all trademark law matters. If you would like to trademark your product or wish to take legal action against another party you believe is breaching trademark laws, get in touch with us today.

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