Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Band's name stolen 'legally' - Crowdfunding campaign to get it back


skankdelvar

Recommended Posts

Band names being stolen in exploitation of 'figurative trademark' registration loophole. Support campaign here: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/bonzodogbanned/

Straight cut and paste below from campaign:

________________________________________________________________________

THE BONZO DOG DOO-DAH BAND WANT TO GET THEIR NAME BACK! 

PLEASE HELP 'THE BONZOS', MODERN ROMANCE AND THE MUSICIAN'S UNION CHANGE UK TRADEMARK LAW!    

In 2017 the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band discovered that in 2015 an entity had registered their name as a 'figurative trademark' ; the name that they have been associated with since the 1960s when they had a Paul McCartney produced hit ‘I’m the Urban Spaceman’ and appeared in the crossover Monty Python TV show ‘Do Not Adjust Your Set’. The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band trademark registration legally entitles the owner to both the name and the associated goodwill and was registered without the consent or the knowledge of the band. 

As a result of the grant of the trademark The Bonzos may never be able to record an album or perform a concert under their name ever again. In the two years which have elapsed since this dispute began one member of the band, Sam Spoons, has sadly passed away. The band are challenging the decision to grant the trademark but need your help.

To make matters worse The Bonzos are also facing a lawsuit by the trademark owner that asserts the band does not own the name and that their attempt to win it back through the IPO Tribunal service amounts to a fraudulent conspiracy. The band are vigorously contesting this COSTLY claim AND URGENTLY NEED YOUR HELP.

Even when the Bonzo's win, the legal loophole in the UKs Trademark laws that threatens artists and their intellectual property in every sphere of the industry will remain. 

This is not an isolated incident. The 1980's band Modern Romance are known for their hits 'Best Years of Our Lives' (re-recorded by the Baha Men for Shrek) 'Ay Ay Ay Moosey' and 'Everybody Salsa'. Recently they had to fight a two year battle to get back their name. They lost thousands of pounds worth of live work after someone registered Modern Romance as a trademark without their permission. 

HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN ?    

Under current UK legislation anyone can register a band's name, i.e their Intellectual Property, by simply logging on to the IPO (Intellectual Property Office) website, paying a fee of £200 and ticking a box that confirms they are the owner of the name. The IPO does not ask applicants to provide any evidence of ownership, and unless the name has already been registered, a trademark is granted to the applicant. The next time the rightful owner decides to use the name, they can be held to ransom by the new owner.  

The band are appealing to their fans, musicians and lovers of music to help by contributing what they can to assist them in their struggle. 

This is an issue critical to every performing artist in the country.  

Whatever you can give will be put towards ensuring that these National Treasures are able to retain the name that they believe is rightfully theirs, as well as amending the arcane legislation which is currently ripe for exploitation and causing widespread harm and expense to the artistic community in the UK. 

If you are a performing artist or are in a band you are at risk. 

______________________________________________________

 

Edited by skankdelvar
  • Thanks 1
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think basically my reason for supporting this campaign is to help the Bonzos to get their name back ...

Then changing the law so that this sort of thing can't happen.

Send money now, worry about the details later :)

https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/bonzodogbanned/

Edited by skankdelvar
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

46 minutes ago, Ricky 4000 said:

According to this article, the shytes that (allegedly), registered the Bonzo's name are these lot here: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/04679585/filing-history

Interesting. Thanks for this....

Hard to tell from the articles of incorporation and the accounts just what the business actually is......

Edited by Skinnyman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm off the trademark "The Beatles", "U2" and "The Rolling Stones"...when their Lawyers see what's going on they'll frighten the B'Jesus out of anybody else thinking about trying this.

Wanna mess with the big boys???

Edited by TheGreek
  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

I'm off the trademark "The Beatles", "U2" and "The Rolling Stones"...when their Lawyers see what's going on they'll frighten the B'Jesus out of anybody else thinking about trying this.

Wanna mess with the big boys???

I've trademarked 'The Greek' ™

You'll be hearing from my leegul team imminently. :D

 

  • Haha 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

49 minutes ago, Teebs said:

I've trademarked 'The Greek' ™

You'll be hearing from my leegul team imminently. :D

 

I was going to threaten you with the whole Greek nation taking action....checked the Bank account - we can't afford it. 😢

  • Haha 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why on earth hadn't the band registered the name themselves??

Even at the lowest levels of the music industry bands get into disputes over name usage, and if you intend on selling merch or recorded music one of the first things you should do is check that the cool name you just came up with by your band isn't already owned as a trademark or likely to land you in hot water with a big corporation who already owns the name (even if none of their products are music related) - I know a band who just had to scrap all their merch and CDs because they didn't do any due diligence in this respect.

This isn't really stealing so much as it is incompetant management - it still sucks for the band, but anyone who has been involved in the music industry for half a century should be well aware how mercenary and backstabbing it can be whenever money is at stake and should have taken measures to protect themselves many years ago.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

'I'll donate next week when I have the pennies ( I've saved the link ).

 

I rather donate to a collection for a hit man to take the robbing bastards out though!

 

Maybe we could arrange for them to visit Fleabag's gaff, near the top of his stairs?

Edited by Raymondo
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There was a similar scam when anyone could register someone else's land and houses on the Land Registry. People found they couldn't sell their property and some had their property sold for them by the fraudsters. Surprisingly, for a government department, the LR move pretty quickly and has changed its procedures and just about closed off this loop-hole.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...