Business News Legal

Van Halen not happy with the trademark applications of a former Mrs Van Halen

By | Published on Friday 18 October 2013

Van Halen

ELVH Inc, the company that manages the trademarks of the legendary rock band Van Halen, has begun legal action against Kelly Van Halen, the ex-wife of the band’s drummer Alex Van Halen, over her use of her surname in commercial enterprises.

Van Halen the band, of course, sourced its moniker from the family name of two of its founder members, Eddie and Alex, a family name Kelly Carter then took when she married the latter brother in 1984, and continued to use even after they divorced twelve years later.

Two decades on, Kelly Van Halen, pretty reasonably you might think, is running an interior design business, which is also involved in some fashion products and construction services, that uses her real name. And to that end she seemingly recently file a trademark application for exclusive use of the Kelly Van Halen mark in her areas of business.

It’s that trademark registration that has resulted in the legal action from ELVH Inc, which is trying to block the mark applications, arguing – according to Billboard – that her use of the Kelly Van Halen brand violates the band’s Van Halen trademarks, is diluting the value of those marks, and also constitutes passing off and unfair competition.

Should the case get to court it could raise some interesting issues around the old debate of whether trademark rights can impinge on someone using their family name, even if it’s a name acquired through an annulled marriage. Though legal experts say that before that debate could be had, the Van Halen band would first have to show how Kelly VH’s business activities are negatively impacting on their commercial operations.



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