Cease and Desist Order
An LA-based all-girl Bon Jovi tribute band received a letter from the law firm Blakely Sokoloff Taylor & Zafman regarding the use of "Jovi" in their group's name, and the heart-and-dagger logo on their website. It reportedly states, in part:
“It has recently come to our attention that your band is using the mark and name BLONDE JOVI in connection with live musical performances; more specifically, a Bon Jovi tribute band.Now, I'm sure this is going to get some attention, sort of like the guy who sued Bon Jovi for $400m. The article writer gets all up in arms over this. I agree that most likely a group of women is not going to ever EVER get confused for our guys, but still, I would guess that this a boilerplate cease-and-desist letter, and the lawyers just filled in the blanks. Also, I assume that the tribute band must be doing well to garner such attention, yes?
Our investigation also uncovered that you are using BJP’s “Heart and Dagger” Logo trademark prominently on your website. Unfortunately, and despite the fact that our client appreciates the reverence that your band pays tribute to Bon Jovi, as a tribute band, our client nevertheless is charged with the duty of enforcing its trademark rights.
In this regard, BJP cannot allow your band to use the mark and name BLONDE JOVI (or any other BJP trademarks), as such use creates a likelihood of confusion with our client, and capitalizes on the goodwill and reputation of its well-known marks.
In view of the above, we demand, on behalf of our client, that you and your band immediately (i) cease and desist any and all further use of the mark and name BLONDE JOVI, or any other mark or name similar to our client’s BON JOVI mark, in any manner.
source
Their website (blondejovi.com) has been taken down (I checked). But, I think this was recent, because on their myspace page, they posted a blog entry just yesterday about their name change to Blonde Jersey.
And, they are still using a modified heart-and-dagger, but I think it's different enough from the original that it shouldn't matter.
So, what do you think about the letter?
Are the lawyers just doing their job, or is Jon the devil for picking on these girls?
~ Hath
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5 comments:
I just posted about this. There is a tendency to paint Jon as a demon in the media, but at the same time it seems decidedly nitpicky to go after a bunch of girls paying homage to Bon Jovi. I'd have thought Fair Use might cover them, but I'm no legal expert and the laws would differ from country to country anyway.
Whether the girl band might get confused with the real band isn't the issue. In this case I believe it's in fact a boilerplate cease and desist order, but it's use is valid. BJP cannot be seen to be playing favorites. Any and all use of the logos and trademarks, that they are made aware of, must be addressed.
I think the language of the letter exonerates Jon from the 'devil' description. Essentially it's saying 'Go for it! Just don't use the trademarks, okay?' I, personally, find that a reasonable request.
-Stas
I'll agree with Stas on this one. They are required to go after anyone using their trademarks in order to keep from being accused of picking and choosing. There's no question it's boiler plate. As for Jon being a demon? Naw, he's just a businessman and his attorneys are protecting the band's (and his) interests.
LOL I just posted about this too. I think I agree with the above posts that obviously Jon, as a shrewd businessman, has every right to ask the group not to use those trademarks. And this is the band's attorneys' JOB. As far as suing for actual money, I personally think that might be a bit harsh - and I can see why some of the non-fan public would be willing to paint Jon the demon - but at the same time, how else do you handle legal matters like this? Is a slap on the wrist "authorized" in the media? In private home matters, surely. But perhaps not in the public eye - then is when you need legal action, unfortunately.
But there must be literally hundreds of Bon Jovi tribute bands around the world. Many of them have names like the Bon Jovi Experience, Bon Giovi, Non Jovi, etc. Or they take instantly recognisable song and album titles as their names. Pretty much all of them use Bon Jovi logos/artwork/fonts in some way. Yet as far as I know, Blonde Jovi is the only one that has ever been threatened with anything. Why?
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