Osbourne Sues Over "Black Sabbath" Trademark

New bands often come to me for legal services and say "We want to do things the 'right way' this time around. Where do we start?" While there are a myriad of answers to this question, and I customize a legal plan with each band I work with, there are a few legal "foundations" I recommend to almost every band. First and foremost, a band agreement. It's basically the music industry version of a partnership agreement, but it sets everything out in writing, up front. I hate to be morbid, but the odds are stacked against bands - almost all of them break up. Of course, every band I work with assures me this will not be the case with their band... but I'm a lawyer. I'm a realist. You call a lawyer for only two reasons: 1) to prevent shit from hitting the fan (or hitting the fan in a better way); or 2) to clean up all the shit just just hit the fan. As a so-called "transactional" attorney, I work with numero uno; I try to prevent things from actually blowing up in people's faces should anything go awry.

That being said, I advise bands to plan (oh god) for the worst - what will happen to your songs "if" you break up? What will happen to your band account? And, most importantly, what will happen to your band name? If you don't file a proper trademark for your band name and designate who owns it (I usually advise bands form a business entity and let the entity hold the trademark) this could happen to you. Osbourne and other members of Black Sabbath, like many bands, placed their trust in one another and didn't file a trademark for "Black Sabbath" while Ozzy was in the band. Years later, Iommi filed the mark under his own name. Scrupulous? Probably not. However, both men now find themselves in a pickle and are headed for the court house.

And they're not the first. Axel Rose owns the rights to the "Guns N' Roses" name, which enabled him to form a completely different name under the same name (and gives him exclusive control over when and where the mark will be displayed and what it will be associated with). Pink Floyd were involved in a bitter legal battle after Roger Waters left and wanted to take the name with him (the remaining members ultimately got to keep the name). The list goes on and on. I can't stress enough how important it is to plan for these thing upfront!

Many bands claim it's beyond their budget to do some of these things, but you must think about your band as an investment. I know folks don't like to mix art and business... but it IS your business. If it's not, you're never going to be able to survive as a "professional musician." It costs $275 to file a trademark. Let me tell you, litigation is NOT $275! Plan upfront = insurance policy. Of course, I would recommend hiring a competent attorney to file the mark for you, but if can't do that, you can at least google "how to file a trademark" and take a whack at it yourself. Just please, please do it. If your band goes down, don't you want to go down in a bad-ass-rock-star-flame-of-glory instead of a bitter legal tiff? Law suits are so not metal.

As a final note, Lawyers 4 Musicians (http://lawyers4musicians.com) posted this great blog about trademarks. It's a must read.