From the course: Music Law: Managing a Band's Business

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Who owns your band's name?

Who owns your band's name?

From the course: Music Law: Managing a Band's Business

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Who owns your band's name?

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- Many famous bands, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Megadeth, Talking Heads, The Beach Boys, and The Doors, have all sued their former band mates to prevent the use of the band's name. It's easy for your band to avoid similar aggravation by deciding ahead of time who owns the name. Usually this comes down to whether the band as a whole owns the name or whether specific individuals in the band own it. And which band members if any, can continue to use the name of the band in the event that members leave or the band breaks up. Some simple solutions are: The name is owned by one or more members, and only a band that includes that member or members can use the name. Or the name is the exclusive property of the band as a group and not owned by any individual member. And any member who leaves the group has no right to use the name. If the group eventually breaks up, that is all off the band members go their own way, then nobody can use the name. There's no requirement that you use either of…

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