Commodores Decision: Former Band Member Must Sail on Down the Line

Paul Devinsky and Paul St Marie Jr. wrote this bylined article on the Eleventh Circuit’s Commodores decision, which upheld an injunction that prevented a former member of the Commodores musical group from using the band’s trademarks. Because the group, not its individual members, maintained joint ownership of the band’s marks, anyone who left the group abandoned individual trademark rights, the court concluded.