US TV company Showtime Networks have been sued by the Red Hot Chili Peppers over their recently launched David Duchovny vehicle which is airing in the US on Showtime and on Five here in the UK. The show is called 'Californication' so you can probably guess the basis for the legal claim from the RHCP camp.
Yep, the band claim the TV firm have breached their IP rights, 'Californication', of course, being the name of the band's landmark 1999 album and, prior to the TV show, a name very much associated with them. They are suing Showtime, the show's creator Tom Kapinos and two other production firms citing Federal trademark laws and Californian unfair competition laws. They want to force the show to change its name and for the TV firm to hand over any profits it has made from its 'Californication' franchise to date.
The band's Anthony Kiedis said in a statement yesterday: "Californication is the signature CD, video and song of the band's career. For some TV show to come along and steal our identity is not right".
In the 1990s rock band Living Colour unsuccessfully sued the Fox Network in similar(ish) circumstances when the TV firm launched a show called 'In Living Colour'. Last year, meanwhile, a Californian band called Supernova successfully sued makers of the US pop talent TV show Rockstar Supernova, stopping the band created by the show (which featured Motley Crue's Tommy Lee, former Metallica bass player Jason Newsted, former Guns N Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke and Lukas Rossim, the winner of the pop contest) from performing as Supernova, as originally intended. The TV show created group have since operated as 'Rockstar Supernova'.