Band Names and Copyright??

[Tone le Bone]

I have a question about Band Names and copyright, and was wandering if the learned Basschat fellows may cast an expert eye and offer some advice?

Our band is called 'Bazooka Joe' and we write our own material. Some of the band members are getting twitchy that we are infringing on copyright over the band name, which was originally, and I think still is, a brand name for bubble gum. (You may remember the bubble gum was pink, and a cartoon of Bazooka Joe, an American kid, was included in each sweet).
Also on further investigation, Adam and the Ants were formally known as Bazooka Joe, with his backing vocalists called 'The lilletes'!

I have registered 'Bazooka Joe' here [url="http://www.bandname.com/"]Bazooka Joe[/url]
We have a MySpace site here [url="http://www.myspace.com/bazookajoeuk"]MySpace[/url]
I have also got www.bazookajoe.co.uk

So, does anybody know about copyright infringment? If we are falling foul it would mean changing the band name, which I really dont want to do. Most people who hear us love the band name, so it would be a shame to lose it.

Your thoughts gratefully appreciated.

T le B

[EssentialTension]

Many years ago in the 1970s, a friend was in a band called 'Desperate Dan'. They received a cease and desist letter from the solicitors of D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.

[ahpook]

seeing as 'bazooka joe' is the name of type of gum (and the associated cartoon character), a band from the 70's and an upcoming film...you [i]may[/i] have a struggle...


sorry.

[Tone le Bone]

[quote name='ahpook' post='925383' date='Aug 15 2010, 10:15 AM']seeing as 'bazooka joe' is the name of type of gum (and the associated cartoon character), a band from the 70's and an upcoming film...you [i]may[/i] have a struggle...


sorry.[/quote]


Thanks guys, not good news. I have found in the past that finding a really good band name that is a) original, and b)that all band members like; is one of the hardest things about playing in a band. :wacko:

Edited August 15, 2010 by Tone le Bone

[basshead56]

I´m pretty sure you´d get a letter in the post from a lawyer asking you to either pay costs or cease performing under the name, considering the original Bazooka Joe (by that, I mean the one from the 70´s) had Adam Ant as the bass player and judging by the fact that he MUST be skint by now, I reckon he´d come after you for a few quid

Edited August 15, 2010 by basshead56

[Annoying Twit]

Given how poorly IP law is understood by people, it's probably worthwhile reading all of the UK copyright service's help and advice pages.

[url="http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/intellectual_property"]http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyrigh...ectual_property[/url]

[chris_b]

Just change it to Bazooka Norman. You'll be ok then.

[Stingray5]

[quote name='Tone le Bone' post='925363' date='Aug 15 2010, 09:50 AM']I have a question about Band Names and copyright, and was wandering if the learned Basschat fellows may cast an expert eye and offer some advice?

Our band is called 'Bazooka Joe' and we write our own material. Some of the band members are getting twitchy that we are infringing on copyright over the band name, which was originally, and I think still is, a brand name for bubble gum. (You may remember the bubble gum was pink, and a cartoon of Bazooka Joe, an American kid, was included in each sweet).
Also on further investigation, Adam and the Ants were formally known as Bazooka Joe, with his backing vocalists called 'The lilletes'!

I have registered 'Bazooka Joe' here [url="http://www.bandname.com/"]Bazooka Joe[/url]
We have a MySpace site here [url="http://www.myspace.com/bazookajoeuk"]MySpace[/url]
I have also got www.bazookajoe.co.uk

So, does anybody know about copyright infringment? If we are falling foul it would mean changing the band name, which I really dont want to do. Most people who hear us love the band name, so it would be a shame to lose it.

Your thoughts gratefully appreciated.

T le B[/quote]
I guess if Bazooka Joe is still a regular selling product, you may well have problems.
I'm not sure this is the answer but how about a slight alteration to BazookaJo - all one word, note the capital J.

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='925378' date='Aug 15 2010, 10:10 AM']Many years ago in the 1970s, a friend was in a band called 'Desperate Dan'. They received a cease and desist letter from the solicitors of D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.[/quote]
OMG - I was in a band in the '70s which had a series of names but settled on The Billy Whizz Band or simply Billy Whizz.
However, we were also denied permission to use the name by D.C. Thompson so for a while after that, we changed it to The Whizz.

[Mykesbass]

Really depends on what the original bubblegum manufacturer has protected under trademark - I was once in a record company which put out Chas n Dave's Tottenham FA Cup record - they had to quickly do a second one as the first infringed Arsenal's trademark - they had their name protected for all sorts of stuff including recorded music.

Also, the band Reef had to stop selling merchandise as it infringed the clothing brand of that name - there was however, no issue there over the band name.

I wouldn't have thought the Adam Ant band would be a problem, and it also may well set a precedent that a band can legitimately use that name.

[3V17C]

D.C. Thompson seem to be well on the case with this!!.. there was a band from round here called The Bash Street Kids who started doing reasonably well back in the early nineties and they got told to change their name too.


c

[thepurpleblob]

Bazooka Joe gum is alive and well and still for sale. Unless they're stupid it'll be a registered trademark. Expect the cease and desist letter soon !!

[Tone le Bone]

Thanks for all the advice and comments, this is what this site is all about!
I think the short answer is that the band is going to have to change its name. The only upside of this is that the band played a festival at Guilfest in Guildford this year as 'Bazooka Joe', and the T Shirts had every band who played on the reverse side in alphabetical order, which meant that we were at the top of the T Shirt, above Status Quo and Level 42!...... Come on!
We are probably playing our last gig as Bazooka Joe at the Grey Horse, Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey on Thurs 26th Aug 8pm, if there are any locals about? Come and support us, its a great music venue.
Thanks for your help.
T le B

[hoiho]

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='928092' date='Aug 17 2010, 10:08 PM']Bazooka Joe gum is alive and well and still for sale. Unless they're stupid it'll be a registered trademark. Expect the cease and desist letter soon !![/quote]

Depends. Even registered trademarked names aren't universal [designs and logos are different]. They are registered for, and restricted to, the sphere in which they are used. So we can have, say, a computer manufacturer and a music publishing company sharing a single fruity trademarked name. Unless you use the bubblegum imagery (or otherwise imply [i]any[/i] kind of connection or endorsement) they don't really have a strong, or, probably, any, legal case. However, they do have more money, [s]guns[/s] and lawyers, and you don't...

I used to be in a band named after a bus company!

You could rename as something close, say Bazooka Go ?

[thepurpleblob]

[quote name='hoiho' post='928113' date='Aug 17 2010, 10:28 PM']a computer manufacturer and a music publishing company sharing a single fruity trademarked name.[/quote]

.....and have fought like cats and dogs over it for years.

If you are interested... [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v_Apple_Computer"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v_Apple_Computer[/url]

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='hoiho' post='928113' date='Aug 17 2010, 10:28 PM']So we can have, say, a computer manufacturer and a music publishing company sharing a single fruity trademarked name.[/quote]
Although the dispute over the use of the name 'Apple' did go as far as the High Court - both sides could afford expensive lawyers.

[thepurpleblob]

Ahem..... [url="http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ohim?ohimnum=E7269889"]http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ohim?ohimnum=E7269889[/url]

[hoiho]

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='928120' date='Aug 17 2010, 10:34 PM']Although the dispute over the use of the name 'Apple' did go as far as the High Court - both sides could afford expensive lawyers.[/quote]

But only when Apple Computers ventured into music.

[hoiho]

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='928116' date='Aug 17 2010, 10:31 PM']If you are interested... [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v_Apple_Computer"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v_Apple_Computer[/url][/quote]

Interested? I'm a law student!

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='hoiho' post='928181' date='Aug 17 2010, 11:21 PM']But only when Apple Computers ventured into music.[/quote]
Well, the original dispute over the use of the name 'Apple' and the 'Apple logo', goes back to the late 1970s and predates Apple Computers venturing into music.

[hoiho]

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='928191' date='Aug 17 2010, 11:29 PM']Well, the original dispute over the use of the name 'Apple' and the 'Apple logo', goes back to the late 1970s and predates Apple Computers venturing into music.[/quote]

OK, so maybe Apple wasn't the [i]best[/i] example. It was just the first to come to mind. How about Badass, instead. A bass bridge, a leather cream, [i]and[/i] a burger...

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='hoiho' post='928246' date='Aug 18 2010, 12:23 AM']OK, so maybe Apple wasn't the [i]best[/i] example. It was just the first to come to mind. How about Badass, instead. A bass bridge, a leather cream, [i]and[/i] a burger...[/quote]
I didn't mean that there was anything wrong with the example as such, because the two companies have and do co-exist. I only wanted to say that the matter had been through the courts.

[hoiho]

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='928252' date='Aug 18 2010, 12:29 AM']I didn't mean that there was anything wrong with the example as such, because the two companies have and do co-exist. I only wanted to say that the matter had been through the courts.[/quote]

Right oh. Although that was mainly because Apple Corps is famously litigious, and fiercely protective of their property, and also very rich, not because they necessarily had a good case. At least as far as the [i]name[/i] apple goes; the [i]logo[/i] is another matter entirely - the "rainbow apple" was clearly sailing pretty close to the wind.

Anyway, it now occurs to me now that [i]Everclear[/i] would have been a much better example, as both a booze [i]and[/i] band.

Like I said, it all depends; there's no hard and fast rules...
So much (too much?) of the law is like that.

Edited August 18, 2010 by hoiho

[ShergoldSnickers]

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='925378' date='Aug 15 2010, 10:10 AM']Many years ago in the 1970s, a friend was in a band called 'Desperate Dan'. They received a cease and desist letter from the solicitors of D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd.[/quote]
My current band used to be called Desperate Din. Wonder if we would have got the letter?

[Cat Burrito]

I wouldn't worry too much, to go against the other (possibly better!) advice. I was in a band called SkinTrade in the 90s and then a band called The Ex-Boyfriends. Both names have been used since. A lot of bands would change their names to *band name* UK or the London *band name*. If you get to a stage where you are signed your record company lawyers can fight it out. At present you've not received a letter. I don't recall Oasis getting into trouble with the drink of the same name & one may help the others sales. Just my 2 cents...

[Vibrating G String]

This is one of the more popular subjects on the internet and almost all of the advice is given by people who have no clue. So trying to figure out which advice has any legal basis is pretty tough Ignore anything that uses the word copywrite instead of copyright.

Whether you have legal rights or not is not likely to come into play unless you make it big and the name you're using cares enough to fire up a lawyer. Also even if a company does not have the law on their side their lawyers can ruin your life if they want to, and they do want to.


For fun you can read about he Nissan website and how a small shop is being attacked by a giant company according to the small shop.
[url="http://www.digest.com/"]http://www.digest.com/[/url]

If you are talking the name directly from another product that you know has already been used as a band name many times (it's been used in the US a bunch too) maybe it's not a great name. What do you do when the next band wants to use the same name? You have no recourse against them especially since you already know you're taking a previous band name.