A federal judge has refused to dismiss Rudolph Isley’s lawsuit against his brother Ronald over the rights to the Isley Brothers band name, starting a long and complicated trademark case with no settlements in sight.
As Pitchfork reports, Ronald began the process to obtain the exclusive rights to “The Isley Brothers” trademark back in November of 2021, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office officially registering it to his name in August of last year. When Rudolph Isley filed his lawsuit, his brother immediately motioned to dismiss the case, with the judge’s denial of the motion coming in just yesterday.
While Ronald’s legal team argued that the initial partnership dissolved after their brother O’Kelly Isley Jr. died and Rudolph left the band shortly afterwards, Judge Thomas M. Durkin disagreed, instead arguing that “unique circumstances” within band name trademarks and case law gave the lawsuit the right to proceed. If the Isley brothers cannot reach a settlement, the pair and their legal teams will head to a jury trial, which could take multiple years to conclude.
The Isley Brothers, which currently consists of just Ronald and Ernie Isley, have continued to release music over the years since the band’s hiatus following the death of O’Kelly Isley Jr., participating in a VERZUZ battle against Earth, Wind & Fire back in 2021. During the Instagram Live for the battle, the pair premiered their new single ‘Friends and Family,’ which featured Snoop Dogg and was accompanied by a music video shortly thereafter.
Band name trademarks have always been an issue within the music industry—over the last couple years there have been disputes within bands such as Black Flag, Cro-Mags, and Fear Factory all over who is allowed to use the band’s name following a breakup. Luckily for those three bands, though, they weren’t blood related.
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