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Van Halen trademark squabble settled

By | Published on Monday 12 January 2015

Van Halen

The company that represents the intellectual property of the band Van Halen has reached a settlement with Kelly Van Halen, the ex-wife of the band’s co-founder and drummer, following a legal dispute over her continued use of her married name in a design business.

As previously reported, ELVH Inc went legal in 2013 after Kelly Van Halen attempted to register trademarks for her business, which has continued to operate under her married name despite her divorcing Alex Van Halen in the mid-1990s.

ELVH Inc claimed that Kelly’s proposed trademarks would violate and dilute the band’s own Van Halen marks and should therefore be blocked. It also argued that Alex’s ex’s continued use of the Van Halen name constituted passing off and unfair competition.

Had the case got to court, the band would have to have proven that the former Mrs Van Halen’s design business was in someway crossing over with the band’s own commercial operations. Discussion would then need to have been had about the trademark implications of people trading under their own name, including the name they obtained through a since annulled marriage.

But alas no such legal debates will now occur, because both sides last week asked that ELVH Inc’s lawsuit be dismissed. Reps for ELVH said simply that the matter had been “amicably resolved”, while Kelly Van Halen’s attorney told The Hollywood Reporter that his client had agreed to not provide any music-related products or services, and to only use her name as part of a wider brand identity, such as ‘Designer Originals by Kelly Van Halen’.

So, that’s all sorted then.



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