\n\t\t\tTrending on Billboard\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\n\tThe legal war over the Isley Brothers name is finally over.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn court filings obtained and first reported by Billboard<\/em>, attorneys for Ronald Isley<\/strong> and the estate of Rudolph Isley<\/strong> jointly asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit they\u2019ve fought since 2023 over the trademark rights to \u201cThe Isley Brothers,\u201d the name their iconic soul group used across decades of chart-topping hits.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tIsley Brothers Battle in Court Over Trademark Rights to Band\u00a0Name\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n \n\tMonths before Rudolph\u2019s 2023 death, he sued Ronald in federal court, claiming his brother was improperly trying to monopolize the legal rights to a name they were supposed to be splitting equally. Ronald later fired back that his brother had left the band and was not entitled to share the name.<\/p>\n \n\tAfter a judge allowed the case to move ahead, the lawsuit has largely been on ice for nearly three years as the two sides negotiated a potential settlement. Such a deal was tentatively struck in February, but was not formalized in court until Wednesday.<\/p>\n \n\tThe specific terms of the agreement \u2014 including who will own what rights and whether any money changed hands \u2014 was not included in court filings. Neither side immediately returned requests for comment on the resolution of the case.<\/p>\n \n\tThe Isley Brothers are hardly the first musicians to battle in court over a band name. Such rights hold massive value for ongoing touring and merchandise. But evolving group rosters and often-shoddy paperwork mean such rights are prone to thorny disputes over who owns what.<\/p>\n \n\tJourney, Stone Temple Pilots, Jefferson Starship, the Rascals, the Ebonys, the Commodores and the Platters have all ended up in such litigation over the years. Members of the Beach Boys spent more than 10 years fighting over their name, before a settlement was reached in 2008.<\/p>\n \n\tThe dispute over the Isley Brothers started in 2023, when Rudolph filed a lawsuit claiming that his brother was trying to cut him out of the name rights and secure a federal trademark registration for himself alone. The case claimed that since the 1986 death of their third brother (O\u2019Kelly Isley<\/strong>), Rudolph and Ronald had been the equal co-owners of the group\u2019s intellectual property.<\/p>\n \n\tIn his own response filings, Ronald urged a judge to dismiss the case, arguing that the \u201cIsley Brothers\u201d trademarks were the property of those who have actually been using the name \u2014 and that Rudolph had not performed with the band for many years.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cPlaintiff, by his own admission, has neither performed nor recorded with the Isley Brothers since 1989,\u201d Ronald\u2019s attorneys wrote. \u201cPlaintiff wrongly contends that, notwithstanding his decades-long absence from touring and performance, he still is entitled to ownership of a 50% interest in the mark.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn August 2023, a federal judge allowed the case to move ahead, ruling that Rudolph\u2019s allegations, if later proven true, would mean that he continued to have rights to the name. The judge said that even if Rudolph had stopped performing or recording, he may have had an ongoing \u201cmanagerial role\u201d that entitled him to co-ownership.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tThe 50 Best R&B Groups of All Time: Staff\u00a0Picks\u00a0\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n
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