BTO Members Taking Care of Legal Business
Fans of the 70′s Canadian super group, Bachman Turner Overdrive (also commonly known as BTO), may have noted the report of a legal dispute between current and former band members over the rights to the band’s trademarks. The mark BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE is the subject of two registrations in the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and there are several pending applications for similar marks.
While disputes between ex-band mates are not unusual, this one has an added twist in that it pits one brother (Randy Bachman, widely considered the most talented member) versus another (Robbie).
While this appears to be primarily a contractual dispute, the trademark issues are front and centre and serve to highlight the value of branding to musical groups, both during their heydey and into later years when remaining members (and often non-members) continue to live off the avails of a group’s prior glories.
Perhaps one day someone will turn this family feud into a Broadway musical – “Peg Boys” might be a nice nod to the Winnipeg roots of the band.
This entry was posted by Neil Melliship on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 4:39 pm and is filed under Case Law, Protection & Enforcement. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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