Following the victory earlier this week of former Doors member John Densmore in a legal action to stop his former bandmates from using the Doors name for their new band, the lead singer of Megadeth has begun similar legal proceedings to stop one of his former bandmates from using their moniker for other projects - albeit, in this case, an advert.
Megadeth frontman David Mustaine claims that there is a contract between him and the band's former bassist David Ellefson which prevents Ellefson from using the group's name "to advertise, market or promote any product or service".
Mustaine says Ellefson broke that contract in a recent advert in Bass Player magazine which featured the bassist promoting guitar equipment. The ad listed the bands Ellefson had worked with, including Megadeth, which, Mustaine argues, amounts to the former bassist using the band's name to promote a product.
Ellefson was left out of Megadeth when the band reformed in 2004, two years after formally splitting in 2002. It was during that time Mustaine, who founded the band 22 years ago after being fired from Metallica, claims the deal with Ellefson regarding future use of the Megadeth name was agreed. Mustaine's legal action seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.