Country group Lady A sues Seattle blues singer Lady A in trademark dispute

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Less than a month after country group Lady A (formerly Lady Antebellum) and Seattle-based singer Lady A (real name Anita White) said they were working together to coexist with a shared moniker, the country band filed a trademark lawsuit against White in a federal district court in Nashville.

On June 11, members of the band Lady A (Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood) renounced their name saying when they formed 14 years ago, they didn't consider the pre-Civil War "associations that weigh down this word," including ties to slavery.

A day later, White, who is Black, blasted the country group in an Instagram post, saying: "How can you say Black Lives Matter and put your knee on the neck of another Black artist? I'm not mad..I am however not giving up my name, my brand I worked hard for. #GodWillFightMyBattle #TheRealLadyA #LadyABluesSoulFunkGospelArtist #TheTruthIsLoud"

The following week, both Lady As shared news that they'd connected privately, prayed together and both intended to keep using the stage name. White told USA TODAY the band reached out to her to have "open and honest conversations" and singer Hillary Scott apologized.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/country-group-lady-a-sues-seattle-blues-singer-lady-a-in-trademark-dispute/ar-BB16vhoZ?ocid=NL_ENUS_D1_20200709_10_3

[maxsolomon]

1. So much drama over a TERRIBLE name.

Anita White wants 10 million dollars for it?

Might I suggest, Lady Antebellum, that you change your name to "Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Haywood"?

Much like the legendary Hamilton, Joe Frank, and Reynolds.

[tanyev]

7. +1. Lady Antebellum never made sense as a name for a trio of 2 men, 1 woman.

Lady A isn’t any better, and the whole ‘antebellum’ thing is still there simmering under the surface. Just have a band meeting and think of something else.

[unblock]

2. i'm guessing the courts would decline to weigh in on the matter unless someone actually sues

my understanding is that the country band is only seeking a declaratory judgment that their use of "lady a" doesn't infringe on the blues singer's rights to use the same name. no one's seeking money or an injunction, at least not yet.

i thought courts didn't like to weigh in on such matters unless there was an actual controversy, i.e., unless and until someone sues for monetary damages or some kind of injunction, the courts would prefer to not bother wasting their time.

[Beakybird]

3. Who thinks it's ok to compare naming rights for a band to George Floyd's brutal murder?

I think that's disgusting on the part of the blues singer. I'm sorry.
The blues singer wants exclusive rights to the name. She's had a local act for 20 years.
The country band wants to share the name. They obtained a trademark for the name 9 years ago. They are a national act.
I think we should let the courts settle it. I think it's ok to opine what's fair and unfair. I think that if the races were reversed, and it was a nationally established black group who was told to cease and desist by a southern bluegrass artist, a lot of people here would side with the black group that 1) owned the trademark and 2) wanted to share the name.

[gollygee]

4. They probably should have checked to see if the name was taken

And maybe hired someone to come up with a better name that their fans would figure out was them and that someone else wasn't already using.

[Abnredleg]

5. Their fans have called them Lady A

For years, and they trademarked it in 2012.

[gollygee]

6. Oh, well that's helpful for their case then. nt

[Lancero]

8. Not really.

Anita White had been using the name in performances prior to the bands formation, and had albums released under that name prior to their trademarking it.

Prior use is in her favor here, which tends to trump first to register.

Edit - Trademarks are routinely invalidated for this reason. It's not at all uncommon for prior use cases to slip under the radar like this when a group or person tries trademarking something. Anita White was never large enough for Lady Antebellum to take notice of when they filed that trademark, and since the bands performing name was Lady Antebellum, and because the band never bothered to defend their Lady A trademark, Anita White had no reason to suspect that someone had trademarked her name more than a decade after she'd started using it.

Honestly? Lady Antebellum should have taken her deal. She wasn't making a drastic demand, given the scope of their popularity and profitability. They would buy out her interest in the name, she'd adopt a new one, everyone walks away mostly happy. Now, Lady Antebellum has a serious public optics issue, and they've changed their name to something that they have a fair chance of losing the trademark to.