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Beatles tribute band sues competitor in federal court
Courtesy photo
The Nevada-based Fab Four has sued another Beatles tribute band, The Fab 4 of Colorado.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 | 2 a.m.
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Beatlemania has a new venue — the federal courthouse in Las Vegas.
That’s where the Beatles tribute band The Fab Four, a Nevada corporation, filed suit last week against its competitor, The Fab 4.
Lawsuits between competing musical groups pop up from time to time, but those battles of the bands usually are over which side has the right to use the name of a band after most of its original members have died or retired. Because “the entertainment capital of the world” didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire between dueling bands, for example, or become the target of angry concertgoers, Nevada lawmakers passed legislation in 2007 that prohibits musicians from falsely affiliating themselves with a particular band.
This case is different. The two bands aren’t trying to claim they really are the lads from Liverpool. This is a battle over who the genuine fakes are.
The Fab Four has produced and performed tributes to the Beatles since 1996. Touring extensively in this country and abroad, the company’s productions included the Fab Four Mania shows held at the Aladdin, Planet Hollywood, Sahara and Riviera on the Strip from 2005 through 2008. Since its formation, The Fab Four claims to have performed more than 2,000 shows and generated more than $15 million in gross revenue.
The Fab 4, the defendant based in Mead, Colo., bills itself as Colorado’s premier Beatles tribute band. Though it has done some traveling, most of its recent performances have been in its home state, according to its website.
The lawsuit alleges that The Fab 4 is “essentially identical in sound and appearance” to The Fab Four – referring to the names of the bands and their websites.
By using “Fab 4,” the defendants are “attempting to trade” on the reputation and success of The Fab Four, the lawsuit states. The Fab Four is asking the court to prevent the Fab 4 from using any trademark that sounds like “Fab Four” and is seeking monetary damages.
In other words, The Fab Four doesn’t want The Fab 4 cashing in on The Fab Four’s cashing in on the Beatles.
Because the names are similar, the lawsuit claims, people who are looking for The Fab Four on the Internet wind up going instead to The Fab 4’s website, and the situation is causing confusion among “consumers searching” for The Fab Four’s “entertainment services.”
So it may take a judge to force the two sides to “Come Together.” Maybe they can leave the courthouse singing “We Can Work It Out.”
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If you ask me these "tribute" bands should be forced to have to pay royalties to the owners of the music they are stealing and profiting on..
"The lawsuit alleges that The Fab 4 is "essentially identical in sound and appearance" to The Fab Four."
Dell, duh. :lol:
Too bad they didn't also have a song titled, "Who Really Cares" to use at the end of this story.
I find it really hard to believe that this show has made 15 million dollars. . .so many "tribute artists" are so delusional it is almost sad.
I think the venues they perform in, if of a significant size, are required to pay the royalties on the music performed.
This like an Elvis impersonator saying, "Thank you very much - thank you very much" and getting sued for it.
This law suit may sound funny to some but to The Fab Four it is their livelyhood. The Fab 4 is infringing on the success of The Fab Four. Now if The Fab 4 only play in Colorado, then I don't see a problem, but if they play in venues that The Fab Four has played, then they are in violation. The Fab 4 need only to change there name to resolve this situation outside of court.
@Environprotector,
The venues that these "performers" work at pay the ASCAP/BMI royalties.
I love the amount of snootiness that's going into these comments - and the pettiness of the lawsuit as well. I do understand the need to protect branding; but if the Fab Four really has made $15 million, and Fab 4 really doesn't play outside of Colorado... Well, this would be the functional equivalent to Burger King going out of its way to kick Mom & Pop's Burgers Galore (one location worldwide) in the teeth. And yet, that isn't a completely apt comparison either, since one would have to assume that both Burger King and Mom & Pop's were trying to be the same something else. Like McDonald's. Who gets to call their burger The Fake Big Mac in that scenario?
As for the commenters who so haughtily put the word "performers" in quotation marks, seemingly to downplay the amount of work that doubtless goes into a tribute performance - well, that's just not very nice at all. While perhaps your views on theatre are so high-brow that seeing a tribute band would make your monocle burst into flames, the fact remains that these performers work just as hard (if not harder) to deliver a live performance as any other musicians.
I'm a Beatles fan. I think that these performers provide a glimpse of what it was like to be a part of the sensation that was The Beatles. Although, really, if I'm going to see a Beatles tribute band, it sure won't be The Fab Four. If they are this concerned with small-minded crap, I'll be going to Planet Hollywood instead - to see Beatleshow - which is alright by me. They're great. Oddly, Beatleshow wasn't always called that. Until recently, the show was called Fab Four Live. So it looks like the trivial crap is being flung at all things Fab. I guess these folks are next: http://fab.cba.mit.edu/
Thanks, Fab Four.
Does environprotector ever have fun?
Discuss...
LVMD2020 :
LOL! I have had experiences here and a life that can only be qualified as the most exciting and adventurist anyone could ask for. I complain about how everything has evolved so poorly at present because of the way things used to be. For example Las Vegas used to be the most exciting city on the planet. The Beatles were the BEST band ever, along with Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Louis and Keely. We had 'em all here, along with hotels casinos that knew how to treat their customers. Today it's quite frankly a joke! I still know where to go and what to do for a good time, but quite frankly, I can't help but feel the magic here is gone..
@skydiamonds
I've seen the Fab Four and quite frankly I think I'll leave the quotes around "performers." With John and Georges passing I find these Beatle tribute "shows" to be very ghoulish. Same with the Elvis impersonators. Another comic tragic attempt to imitate real genius that no amount of practice can fix. No creativity with these "acts." Just mindless aping. This town is full of that though, no? Let it be.
Countersuit. The fab four has made 15 million dollars and has more bookings to come; the fab 4 should sue the guitar strings off of these guys! I say those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Personally, I would rather watch real people than a fake band.
Dear SkyDiamonds, or can I call you Lucy. . .
I completely understand the dedication and hard work that the industry demands and I give kudos to any performers skill and determination. I also understand how hard the tribute artists have worked to capture the persona of the person he or she is paying tribute to; however, as I said in my first comment, many of them are not so good, certainly not as good as they think they are, yet they are the only ones who don't realize that. I go to ALL of the shows and I have seen ALL they have to offer. I never said they don't work hard, I just said they are a bit delusional. (not all, some)
There is also an East Coast group called "The Fab Faux" -made up of players from Letterman's and Conan's late night bands. I guess they had better watch it, lest they get served ,too.
Really?? Looks like the Colorado the-fab-4 are just some local boys having fun with charities, weddings and small civic stuff. I played in a band that did a Beatle medley. Are you Vegas boys going to sue me too? Wonder what Sir Paul and Ringo would think of you guys in Vegas sponging off of their talent. I say leave the guys in Colorado alone...with an apology. Maybe write your own songs.
Having played in small local bands for fun makes this petty lawsuit grate on me. Look at the Colorado venues. Those guys probably made a few hundred dollars. And now the anguish and money those poor guys are going to have to go through...and the impact it will have on their friends...shame on you Vegas crab four for doing this.
Wonder when the next time the Vegas boys are booked for a wedding in Colorado.
When is the last time you Vegas boys competed for a gig against the Colorado men? Would you go to Colorado to play a highschool reunion?? A lawsuit...pfffft.
Imagine his reaction, lying there still
Watching the production of these phonies.
And John Denver's telling Lennon not to get so pissed-
"These rookies got nothing but 3 chords!"
"But gommin up my lyrics like they didn't mean a thing is all I can stand from down here. Let's head to a pub to flirt with the lady an beg to play oldies for tips and some beer!"
I know the guys in Colorado have been playing together as The Fab 4 since the mid 90's, why do these other guys think they have the rights to the name? They don't compete in the same markets....it is stupid and greedy.
I feel I should point this out, lest there be any confusion. The Fab Four is not based in Vegas. They came here from Orange County, incorporated in Vegas in a futile attempt to corner the Beatle market, failed, and went home. They shouldn't be confused with Beatleshow, previously Fab Four Live. Beatleshow is in Vegas at Planet Hollywood, and they aren't suing anyone. Although, again, from their recent name change, I assume they got served, too.
Beatleshow is composed of Steve Craig, Tony Felicetta, Glenn McCullum, John Hepburn, Paul Terry, Chris Polster, and Mick McCoy. Some of those folks used to be part of Fab Four, but there was a split in June '08 because of some kind of difference in opinion.
I want to address the other part, regarding whether or not I should be using quotation marks when I refer to tribute bands as performers.
I would call Tom Sesma (Scar in The Lion King at Mandalay Bay) a performer. He is playing a part that was played by Jeremy Irons in the movie. Is Tom Sesma paying a tribute to Jeremy Irons' portrayal of Scar? Yeah, probably, because if he wasn't, none of us would go see The Lion King because the only reason to see The Lion King is its similarity to the movie, which people loved. Is Tom Sesma cashing in on the popularity of The Lion King movie? YES.
Tribute musicians are acting. They are pretending to be something that we already love. I said the sentence about monocles bursting into flames because the only argument against tribute bands being real performers is some highbrow understanding of what art should be.
And without starting in on quotations from Gautier and Pater, doesn't it seem silly for you to tell me what art is valid?
I can even go so far as to say this - Beatleshow is full of great actors (well, sometimes there are understudies, and they clearly aren't as good). They're performers because they're in costume on a stage pretending to be people they aren't - which is hard. It's body language, accent, tone. And this says nothing about their individual musical ability.
Steve Craig (John Lennon) has a CD out called 'Fingers in the Pie'. Tony Felicetta (Ringo Starr) has his own band - The Swingin' Pedestrians. Glenn McCullum doesn't just play George Harrison - he's also in the Blue Man Group band.
It's going to be very easy to dismiss my points now, because it sounds like I'm some kind of raging fangirl stalking Beatle impersonators through Vegas. I'm in the entertainment industry, and could go into great detail about many of the Vegas shows.
I've seen shows that are crap. Heck, I saw the Fab Four once, and they were crap. I've seen shows that are great. Beatleshow is great. They are polished performers who play a very specific role - a role that the audience absolutely is not forgiving about.
They work hard, they have lives. They're actors. They aren't replacement Beatles. Perhaps look up the definition of the word "tribute".
Thanks sky.
You're a piece a work.
I like 'replacement Beatles.' But you had from the start. Smelled like the truth. Creeps from Cali dressed up to be stars in everyone's book and always falling way short of course of reality.
A rip off of originality is not a tribute. I can't imagine the real Paul and Ringo being flattered by these tributes. Tributes are given by people who actually have something to give to those they are honoring.
All these tribute bands are doing is taking. Stealing originality and contributing nothing to art. It's sad and ghoulish.
About as pointless as paint by numbers Goya's. Artists create. Go create something original and sue over that.
Let it be, really.
I am currently reading the pdf of the lawsuit. I suppose I should have before commenting, but I didn't notice the link. I can say, with some assurance, that this is the dumbest legal document I have ever seen.
My absolute favorite part of the lawsuit is this:
Since at least April 2000, Plaintiff has promoted its FAB FOUR Mark in connection with its entertainment services on the Internet
***
Now, I did a simple Whois domain registration search on the Colorado-based Fab 4. Here's what it says:
Domain Name: the-fab-4.com
Created on..............: 1999-09-12
Expires on..............: 2011-09-12
According to their own document, The Fab 4 Colorado predates The Fab Four California - at least their web site does.
And that's not all either.
Also according to the document:
Since at least as early as 1996, Plaintiff (or its predecessors-in-interest) has been in the business of producing and performing live musical performances which pay tribute to the songs and performances made famous by the legendary group The Beatles in the 1960s and 1970s. Unless otherwise specifically identified, any references to Plaintiff shall refer to Plaintiff as well as Plaintiff's predecessors-in-interest.
***
There was a lot of fluff in there, so I'll point out the relevant fact. The Fab Four California has only existed since 1996. I am unsure how long The Fab 4 Colorado has existed as their site doesn't say.
But check this out - there's ANOTHER The Fab4, based in Nottingham, that has been together since 1990 - predating The Fab Four.
Or how about this part:
Plaintiff is the owner of all right, title and interest in and to the FAB FOUR Mark, and the goodwill associated therewith and various registrations and applications therefore, including:
U.S. Registration No. 3,736,064 for THE FAB FOUR THE ULTIMATE TRIBUTE for entertainment, namely, live music concerts (registered January 12, 2010); and
U.S. Trademark Application No. 85/009,153 for THE FAB FOUR for entertainment, namely, live performances by a musical band (filed April
8, 2010).
***
So... The Fab Four has only trademarked as of this year.
Or maybe this:
Plaintiff will seek leave of this court to amend its complaint to include the actual names of said
defendants when their identities are determined during the course of this litigation.
***
What this means is that currently The Fab Four doesn't know the identities of the individuals associated with The Fab 4, but plans to add them to the complaint as soon as possible.
However, they also say that The Fab 4 is an LLC. LLC, for those who don't know, means Limited Liability Company. The whole point of an LLC is that individual members have some protection from liability caused by actions of the company. The only time you can sue individual members is if the complaint is "...based on the personal wrongdoing of the individual members of the LLC while acting on behalf of the LLC..."
I love that - "personal wrongdoing". What the individual members of the Fab 4 Colorado have done is beyond me.
As I said - the document doesn't contain any of the names of the members of The Fab 4 Colorado because The Fab Four California doesn't know their real names. (At least, I don't believe they ever name names. I'll admit that I only got to item 45 before I was so bored I stopped reading.) It took me about five seconds to figure out the name of the Registered Agent for The Fab 4 LLC.
Thank you Sky Diamonds. This is so David and Goliath. Davis wins. Are there no more ethics, morals, values...heart?
LOL. In the story of David and Goliath...I don't think Davis wins...I think it is David.
Davis was out trying to sue somebody.
Well, nice to see people don't see the bigger picture here. First off I happen to know for a fact The Fab Four from California, have worked with The Beatles on at least one major entertainment endeavor. I think they have already filmed a few days for the up coming Yellow Submarine remake set for 2012, in connection with Disney, Apple Corp (The Beatles) and Robert Zemeckis. So they do have a name to safeguard I believe.
It's not about David and Goliath, or bullying etc. It is about name recognition as far as I can see. The Fab Four travel worldwide it seems, and Fab 4 from CO don't. So does that mean that the Fab Four should NOT play in Colorado too??
Nice to see Skydiamonds is representing Steve Craig, and the rest of the bunch. Yeah, she's not bias is she? Or he? The Fab Four appeared on nationwide TV on several occasions for millions of people to see. If the Beatles like em,and use them, they must be pretty good at what they do, I say let the Fab Four try to protect the name they have. I understand they worked with Eric Idle of Monty Python for his Rutlemania show a couple years ago, that must be a good thing too. Both bands will survive
Name recognition? I thought The Fab Four were Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The big picture? That's great that "The Fab Four" have accomplished all of those things. The Fab 4 in CO from what I can tell played a few hours at reception for the Jones wedding. They pose no threat from what I can see. Yeah...both bands will survive. And they can without this petty lawsuit fron The Fab Four. I for one will never spend a dime on anything they do.
@Beatlepeople
I'm not "representing" Beatleshow. I'm not even sure what that means. I am not secretly one of the performers from Beatleshow, nor am I their manager, agent, or producer. And yes, I am female - not that I have any clue why that matters unless you honestly do believe that there's some kind of bizarre cabal working behind the scenes to... I don't even know what. Does this mean YOU are part of some secret cabal?? Paul McCartney, IS THAT YOU??
I'm with Chef on this one - The Fab Four refers to The freakin' Beatles. I think that the content of this lawsuit is the type of thing commenters were referring to earlier - a display of overweening ego. Sure, The Fab Four has enjoyed some fame, but listing off their credits is kind of irrelevant to my most recent post - which was about the FACTS of the lawsuit, not some puffed-chest, name-dropping, big-headed curriculum vitae. If Tom Petty sued a small-town musician named Thomas Petty for writing a song called 'Wildflower', I would react exactly the same way.
Try reading my post over again. The Fab4 Nottingham predates The Fab Four California, and The Fab 4 Colorado's web site predates The Fab Four California's web site. Given all that, who has the right to the name? Apparently the ones who can stamp their feet the most.
The supposition that The Fab Four is "working with" The Beatles on 'Yellow Submarine' is, so far as I am able to tell, unfounded.
Take this line from 'Hollywood Reporter', for instance:
The Beatles tribute band the Fab Four will be motion-captured as the ensemble for the musical performance sequences though -- since actual Beatles music will be utilized (licensed from Sony/ATV and EMI-Capitol Records) -- they won't actually be performing the 16 songs used in the movie.
***
They don't have lines, they don't sing - and from what I hear, they were chosen based on an open casting call for Beatles tribute bands because - and this is an important note - *Beatles tribute bands know how to move like The Beatles, and they needed people who knew how to move like The Beatles*. This is not the same as "working with The Beatles" unless you are playing the equivalent of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.
I'm not trying to belittle any of The Fab Four's accolades. I'm sure that they're great, and they just happened to suck the night that I saw them. It happens. But again - this is not about their success. It's about them using an uzi to kill a mosquito. There are ways to conduct oneself that make people say, "Wow, that's really cool of them," and ways to conduct oneself that make people say "What an unbelievable jerk." And the choice has been made.
Hey! I've got a new names for the infringing bad boys! How about the Drab Four? or if they're a really good band: Fabulous Foresome, Beatles Tribute Band. lol
How about naming themselves "The Walter Mittiots".
Someone emailed the article to me so I thought I'd take a look. I love the Beatles. Then I decided to browse the comment section and cannot....stop....laughing. Those of you who are angered by this really need to get a life. If you're not a fan of tribute artist, then why do you care about any of this? You look like a complete loser.
Those people who are a fan of tribute artists are interested in this article because they follow the shows. To each his own. But if you don't like tribute bands then move on, friends. Get over it.
cheerio.
@WahFah,
Because I'm truly offended by this drivel.
Like I said, Let it be.
This offends you? How does the national debt, the war, and the oil spill make you feel? You must be blowing those message boards up like crazy!
Why don't The Fab 4 just change their name to the Beatles?
The fact that "The Fab Four" is actually having a lawsuit against the Colorado band, "The Fab 4" is insane and heartless. "The Fab 4" poses no threat to their business. I have personally seen "The Fab 4" and they are a group of good-spirited, average guys that all have an incredible passion for Beatles music. They have been preforming for years and rarely do they go outside of Colorado. I feel really bad for these guys because they cannot afford a lawsuit of this magnitude at their age. Best of luck to "The Fab 4".
Wonder if they'll also sue the Canadian FabFour (http://www.thefabfour.ca).
Okay...I'm a bit confused here. I checked out both websites and here's where my confusion comes in. Fab 4 out of Colorado consists of 4 guys - 1 each for John, Paul, George and Ringo. Makes sense...there were only 4 in The Beatles.
Deciding who the 5th Beatle was is an entirely different debate.
The Fab Four out of California list as their cast:
2 different Johns
3 different Pauls
3 different Georges
2 different Ringos
and best of all
3 different Ed Sullivans...OMG
When did Ed Sullivan become part of the Beatles?
I think before Fab Four decides to sue Fab 4 they should actually only be 4. And if they decide to go after the individual members of Fab 4 does that mean each of those members will be sued by the 13 members of Fab Four?
Makes you want to say
"It's All Too Much".