Who Gets the Name When a Band Breaks Up?

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/05/29/ozzy-osbourne-suing-tony-iommi-for-black-sabbath-name/

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/10/28/is-the-music-sublime-without-brad-nowell/

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Former-Doors-Drummer-John-Densmore-Wins-Name-Lawsuit-5356.shtml


There has been no shortage of band breakups over the years. In addition, bands often continually evolve where some members leave and others stay – but the name stays the same. The articles above represent just a few of the many disputes over which member of a band has legal rights to use the name when members go their separate ways.

The news stories above reminded me of the HP Young article “Dividing the Indivisible.” When a band breaks up, which distributive principle is “fair” to use to determine who has rights to the name?

An Argument for Parity – maybe all band members hould be treated equally. Since they were all in the band and contributed to its success, all members should get equal rights to the name.

An Argument for Proportionality – some may argue that all band members do not contribute equally to the band’s success, and thus have different claims to the name. One band that comes to mind is Of Montreal. Front man Kevin Barnes is primarily responsible for writing and recording all of the band’s music, and his is also the best known in the media as the face of Of Montreal. Should Kevin, therefore, be the only one with rights to the name if the band were to change?

An Argument for Priority – with this argument, perhaps the founding member of the band is the one who should retain ownership of the name. John Lennon (or his estate), for instance, could argue that since he was the founding member of the Beatles, he should have sole rights to the name.

Another interesting idea is the modes of division of a name. Sometimes the courts grant sole custody to one member with the greatest claim. Or the band’s brand could be sold and the monetary proceeds divided between the members. Somestime the name is “physically” divided. (or band members use some, but not all, of the original name) The Grateful Dead is a good examaple here. After Jerry Garcia died, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann formed a band which eventually was called The Dead.

It will continue to be interesting to see how this issue plays out with different bands over time.