Judge blocks Sublime band members from using name
Reuters, Nov 3, 2009 9:00 pm PSTA Los Angeles judge has shut down an effort by former members of the ska-punk band Sublime to perform under the name. That didn't sit well with Nowell's family. Three days before the band's performance at the Cypress Hill Smokeout Festival in southern California on October 24, the Bradley Nowell estate and merchandising entity filed a trademark infringement suit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The preliminary injunction was issued Tuesday in a trademark lawsuit brought by the estate of frontman Bradley Nowell, who died of a drug overdose in 1996.
Surviving band members Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh have continued to perform. For years they played as the Long Beach Dub Allstars, but recently they revived the Sublime moniker when they recruited newcomer Rome Ramirez as lead vocalist.
"Prior to his untimely passing, both Bud and Eric acknowledged that Brad Nowell was the sole owner of the name Sublime," the Nowell family posted on the band's MySpace page. "It was Brad's expressed intention that no one use the name Sublime in any group that did not include him, and Brad even registered the trademark 'Sublime' under his own name."
Now Judge Howard Matz has agreed with the family, issuing the injunction citing the estate's likelihood of prevailing on its trademark claim. Matz asked the estate's attorneys to draw up a written injunction for him to sign.
"We are gratified the Court ruled in our favor and found that Bud, Eric and Rome could not use the name Sublime without first obtaining permission from Brad's heirs," Nowell's family said in a statement. "We believe this will help protect and preserve Brad's musical legacy."
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