Lennon Murphy and the Branding of a Band's Name with a Trademark: Ethics vs. Profit Margin

As most people know by now, Yoko Ono entered into a lawsuit with Lennon Murphy to ask the courts to cancel the trademark of the Arista records heavy metal artist. The artist has been selling albums and touring as Lennon Murphy, which is trademarked with the avant-garde widow's late husband's last name. I'm certain that you could get the story by doing a search on Google for Lennon Murphy and get the whole shebang on what's going on with Yoko Ono, who will win the fight if she just holds on.

So is Lennon Murphy just another musician working to weasel their way to the top of the charts? Or is having your band's name trademarked a viable opportunity? I personally believe that with the bootstrapping that bands and musicians are now forced to operate with, branding is a pertinent marketing strategy just as with any other for-profit business. The reason for trademarks is so that the band or musician can have the exclusive rights legally in using that name or combination of words. Trademarks can make or break the bank when it comes to having a sound business plan.

I have two bands that I play music with in New York: one is for musical parodies; the other band is a serious operation that produces music scores for films, television and commercials with its own publishing and PR firm. My parody band is named "The Mammals" and it also acts as a research and development project for my business consulting company. With my experience from producing in the music industry and doing marketing for record labels, this band is a documented experiment on music sales and being successful without having Disney or Bugs Bunny for a subsidy.

At this point, I have weighed the pros and cons of having the band's name trademarked before releasing the debut album. The pros of having the name trademarked are that no other band or company could use "the Mammals" without my permission. The press and media would have to get a written release to do a review or a write-up on the band and the music. This is good for a society where bashing and thrashing people is considered news. If I trademark my band, nobody could trash my band without my written consent.

There are numerous others bands on Myspace named Mammals and at this point, the battle is between the ethics and potential profit margin. If I trademark my band, "The Mammals," those other Mammals bands on Myspace could now be breaking the law and I have the legal right to get my lawyer to sue them for trademark infringement. Those bands would have to take down their sites, stop releasing music under their current Mammals names, and pay me for any damages including lawyer costs and possible court fees. Could I afford to do this? Of course, all it takes is the time and money for the mouthpiece to do his job. At the end of the year, this all gets written off as a business expense so there's really nothing to lose.

Would I do this and still be able to sleep at night? Somehow, I can't picture myself stooping so low as going after other fellow musicians that don't even know I exist. There really would be no way to make out who came up with the Mammals band name first. Even though they have a CD out and I haven't put out an album yet, I could say that I started this band the day I picked up my bass and wrote some lyrics down on a napkin, which was quite some time ago. What evidence is the courts going to use to judge who is the right mammal out of all the bands - by who has more friends on Myspace?

Another advantage to having a band's name trademarked is that when the musicians are old and ready to retire, they can sell the trademark. If the band was successful it may be able to sell it for more than what social security pays for retirement. The band could also pass the trademark down to their heirs or use it to pay off loans in a sub-prime mortgage emergency.

The cons of having the band's name trademarked is minutiae compared to the benefits and legal protection the trademark offers. There is time and money involved with coming up with a unique and clever name to trademark. It has to be something that is in it for the long run. Ok, so I look like a corporate sellout but what else is free enterprise and capitalism about? It's still better than waiting with a hand out to audition for American Idol.