Chrome Hearts is officially suing Neil Young over a name overlap. The luxury fashion brand based in Los Angeles has been operating under this name since 1988. Now, they are suing Young over alleged intellectual property infringements.
For the past year, Young has been touring and recording with new backing band called Chrome Hearts, a reference to his 1976 Stills-Young band song “Long May You Run.” His new album Talkin To The Trees is credited to Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts. Additionally, the musician’s current tour is billed as the Neil Young And The Chrome Hearts Love Earth World Tour, as reported by Stereogum. In response, the luxury brand Chrome Hearts
The official lawsuit states, “Defendants’ continued use of the confusingly similar [Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts] name in commerce violates Chrome Hearts’ valuable intellectual property rights. Defendants have intentionally and knowingly capitalized off of confusion between the Chrome Hearts [trademarks] and the NYTCH name. . . The likelihood of confusion is not merely hypothetical. Some clothing and apparel vendors have apparently already mistakenly assumed that there is a connection between NYTCH and Chrome Hearts, and are actively promoting [it]”.
While trademark law typically allows for two companies operating in different industries to use the same name, the amount of band merch Young is selling with the Chrome Hearts name on it may give the fashion brand a better case.
Young is currently on tour, and has three upcoming shows this September (one of which takes place tonight, September 12th). Fans interested can get more information here.
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