Two former business associates of Kid Rock (real name Robert Ritchie) filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the rocker at a Michigan court last week. The suit isn't over Rock's music though - Alvin Williams and Earl Blunt of EB-Bran Productions claim sole ownership of the name Top Dog - the label name under which Rock releases his music. The name was first used by Williams and Brunt for the independent label they ran in the late eighties - in which Kid Rock invested in 1989.
When Rock signed to Zomba label Jive Records in 1990 he continued to use the Top Dog label name, essentially as a Jive imprint. But he acknowledged EB-Bran's partial ownership of the Top Dog name and signed a contract with the duo to say so. But in 2001, when Rock attempted to obtain a trademark for Top Dog, he filed a lawsuit to eradicate this agreement, claiming he had not heard from Williams and Blunt for years and that they no longer had any association with the 'brand'.
But on hearing about the trademark claim Williams and Blunt have responded with a counter suit, claiming complete ownership of the name. While admitting they gave Zomba permission to release Kid Rock's records under Top Dog name, they claim the deal was more of a licensing arrangement - they say they never handed over the name to Kid Rock or Zomba and that they have been trading under the name for other projects on a regular basis.