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13 January 2015Trademarks

Van Halen settles lawsuit with ex-wife of member

US rock band Van Halen has settled a lawsuit with the ex-wife of one of its members after she used the band’s name for her company.

Last year drummer Alex Van Halen and his brother Eddie took legal action against Kelly Van Halen, from whom Alex divorced in 1996, after they discovered she was using her married name for an interior design company that she owns.

In their lawsuit, filed in October 2013 at the US District Court for the Central District of California, the band members claimed that her trademark applications for ‘Kelly Van Halen’ would cause confusion with the ‘Van Halen’ registrations.

In the complaint, ELVH, which manages the intellectual property of the rock band, claimed that the trademark applications were confusingly similar to the ‘Van Halen’ marks and that she was diluting them, passing off as the band, and committing unfair competition against Van Halen.

But last week, attorneys for both parties agreed that the lawsuit should be dismissed. As part of the settlement Kelly Van Halen can use her full name for her business but she has agreed not to get involved in any music-related services that may cause confusion with the band.

After divorcing from Alex, Kelly Van Halen named her construction and interior design company after herself. She attempted to register trademarks for products including chairs, children's blankets, bathing suits, building construction, interior design services, and more.

According to the US Patent and Trademark Office’s trademark searching system there is a current trademark for the term ‘KVH’, which is owned by Kelly Van Halen and covers goods including blouses and coats.

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