Former Jefferson Starship Founder Can Sue Over Band Name

Chaquico v. Freiberg, 2017 US Dist LEXIS 128167 [ND Cal Aug. 11, 2017, No. 17-cv-02423-MEJ].

A California Federal Judge determined that the band ‘Jefferson Starship’ lost the right to use their name when co-founder Paul Katner died in 2016. The band name had been contractually retired in 1985 under an agreement, after Katner and various other founders left the band. In 1993, Craig Chaquico, whom brought the suit, agreed to allow Katner to use the name for a new band under a new agreement. The Judge determined that Katner’s death terminated the ’93 agreement and the band’s new members as well as older founders were barred from using the name as they were not parties to the agreement. While the Judge dismissed Chaquico’s Lanham Act claims that the former band members’ imagines in marketing creates confusion, she is allowing the breach of contract claim to proceed.