Neil Young vs. Chrome Hearts | Matt Connarton Unleashed

0:00 Speaker 1: Well, let's move on from that, because I just want

0:03 Speaker 1: to get this other story. But this also deals with

0:05 Speaker 1: you know, because I'm always fascinated by anything to do

0:08 Speaker 1: with copyright, intellectual property, all of that is, trademarks, all

0:11 Speaker 1: of that is very fascinating to me. Obviously I did

0:14 Speaker 1: not go to law school, but if I had the

0:17 Speaker 1: type of law that I would probably be practicing would

0:20 Speaker 1: have to do with all that, I'd probably be an

0:21 Speaker 1: entertainment lawyer because these things are so interesting to me.

0:24 Speaker 1: But this is another story that you sent me. This

0:26 Speaker 1: is from pitchfork dot Com. Neil Young has been sued

0:30 Speaker 1: by Chrome Hearts Fashion over his band's new name. And

0:35 Speaker 1: by the way, I didn't even know that Neil Young

0:38 Speaker 1: had a new band, you know. I just think of

0:40 Speaker 1: him as a solo artist, of course, but.

0:42 Speaker 2: I didn't know there was a fashion called Chrome I

0:45 Speaker 2: didn't either Chrome Heart the Chrome Hearts.

0:48 Speaker 1: The Los Angeles company is not happy about the existence

0:51 Speaker 1: of Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, so says here.

0:55 Speaker 1: Last year, Neil Young began to play shows with a

0:58 Speaker 1: new backing band that he called the Chrome Hearts. Then

1:02 Speaker 1: in June, Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, featuring Young,

1:06 Speaker 1: Micah Nelson, Corey McCormick, Anthony Legerfo Orligerfo and Spooner Old

1:13 Speaker 1: Him released their debut album, Taken to the Trees I'm

1:18 Speaker 1: Sorry Talking to the Trees Now. Young and his bandmates

1:21 Speaker 1: are being sued by the la fashion brand Chrome Hearts

1:25 Speaker 1: for trademark infringement. Chrome Hearts LLC filed its complaint in

1:30 Speaker 1: a California federal court on Thursday, September eleventh. The lawsuit

1:34 Speaker 1: was first reported by Billboard. In the complaint obtained by Pitchfork,

1:37 Speaker 1: lawyers for Chrome Hearts outline the brand's ownership quote of

1:42 Speaker 1: the Chrome Heart's word mark and composite trademarks comprising the

1:48 Speaker 1: Chrome Hearts mark and design components unquote, dating back to

1:52 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety one. They argue that Young and his bandmates

1:57 Speaker 1: are infringing upon the brand's trademark by selling Neil Young

2:02 Speaker 1: and the Chrome Heart's merchandise. That quote incorporates the exact

2:07 Speaker 1: Chrome Heart's word mark and thus likely to cause confusion

2:11 Speaker 1: with Chrome Heart's various Chrome Heart marks. The likelihood of

2:16 Speaker 1: confusion is not merely hypothetical. Some clothing and apparel vendors

2:20 Speaker 1: have apparently already mistakenly assumed that there is a connection

2:24 Speaker 1: between Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts and Chrome Hearts

2:28 Speaker 1: and are actively promoting that purported connection. For example, some

2:34 Speaker 1: vendors have started marketing T shirts that prominently display mister

2:38 Speaker 1: Young's name and the Chrome Heart's iconic stylization of the

2:42 Speaker 1: Chrome Heart's mark unquote. I assume, by the way, so

2:46 Speaker 1: what that means is it's using the same font as

2:51 Speaker 1: the Chrome Heart's logo. I have to assume otherwise there

2:55 Speaker 1: would probably be no issue. I wouldn't think.

2:57 Speaker 2: I think you only had to be concerned about another

2:59 Speaker 2: band's name.

3:00 Speaker 1: Yeah, I wouldn't. I mean, it's they're claiming, according to

3:04 Speaker 1: that from the lawsuit, that verbia's from the lawsuit, that

3:07 Speaker 1: it's already causing confusion. I find that heart of belief.

3:10 Speaker 1: If it is causing confusion. If that's true, then I

3:13 Speaker 1: guess that bolster is their case. But I'm a little skeptical.

3:17 Speaker 1: It says here. According to the complaint, Chrome Hearts notified

3:20 Speaker 1: Young's team in July about the alleged trademark infringement, but

3:24 Speaker 1: the band continued to tour under the banner and sell merchandise.

3:27 Speaker 1: Through the lawsuit, Chrome Herts is now requesting that Neil

3:30 Speaker 1: Young and the Chrome Hearts stop using the name. Pitchfork

3:33 Speaker 1: has reached out to representatives for Neil Young and the

3:35 Speaker 1: Cromarts and lawyers for Cromharts LLC for comment. So there

3:40 Speaker 1: you go. I don't really know what to make.

3:43 Speaker 2: Of that one, right, I mean, I always thought it

3:46 Speaker 2: would be different if it's a band, Like how is

3:48 Speaker 2: it usually is banned?

3:51 Speaker 1: Like? How is that confusing? Usually if it's the music,

3:55 Speaker 1: if it's completely different industries, then you usually doesn't end

4:01 Speaker 1: up mattering. But I don't know, I don't know. I mean,

4:05 Speaker 1: does Chrome Hearts, I don't know what kind of fast.

4:09 Speaker 2: Youngs?

4:10 Speaker 1: I doubt it. But maybe maybe they're trying to get

4:13 Speaker 1: some money. Maybe they want maybe they'd like to make

4:15 Speaker 1: a settlement where Neil Young pays X amount of money

4:18 Speaker 1: to sort of license the name Chrome Hearts.

4:20 Speaker 2: Or are they doing this just to get more attention

4:22 Speaker 2: onto their products? Because hey, it makes a great story,

4:25 Speaker 2: that could.

4:26 Speaker 1: Be talking about it. That could be too Yeah, because

4:28 Speaker 1: I'd never even heard of Chromharts and you.

4:30 Speaker 2: Didn't say anything about them sewing for money. Interestingly, well,

4:34 Speaker 2: they want him to stop using the name. Is there

4:36 Speaker 2: a cash requestion.

4:37 Speaker 1: There there there may be a well, like I said,

4:40 Speaker 1: I mean if they can, if they can come to

4:42 Speaker 1: a settlement, which these things often do. They they more

4:45 Speaker 1: often settle than actually go to court. So they might

4:47 Speaker 1: come to a settlement where they effectively license the name

4:50 Speaker 1: Chrome Hearts to Neil Young it's silly, or or they

4:54 Speaker 1: get a percentage of uh of of revenue generated from

5:00 Speaker 1: Neil Young merchandise which has Chrome Hearts.

5:03 Speaker 2: If I see Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts stuff

5:05 Speaker 2: at this new arena, I know that that I'm going

5:07 Speaker 2: to be confused and go by clothing.

5:09 Speaker 1: Well that's the thing that would that that would be Yeah,

5:11 Speaker 1: that would be a good counter argument in the lawsuit.

5:13 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's not like it's and it's not even like

5:16 Speaker 2: they're not even promoting the name separately. It's with Neil Young,

5:19 Speaker 2: So Neil Young and the Chrome Heart. Right, it's not

5:22 Speaker 2: a separate name even.

5:24 Speaker 1: Right if the band was simply called Chrome Hearts, that

5:26 Speaker 1: would be well.

5:27 Speaker 2: Even if they are, it's a band, it's not a

5:30 Speaker 2: clothing designer. Yeah, unless their T shirts start making music.

5:33 Speaker 2: I don't hear it, right, I think I'm saying.

5:40 Speaker 1: I'm not sure I'm a little I usually draw a

5:44 Speaker 1: pretty fast conclusion with this stuff. I'm a little I'm

5:47 Speaker 1: a little undecided. I'm uncertain of this one. Yeah, usually

5:52 Speaker 1: surprises me too. I usually see these things a little

5:55 Speaker 1: bit more cut and dry. But I think it's stupid.

5:57 Speaker 1: I'm not I'm not sure on this one. I don't see.

5:59 Speaker 2: Anybody mixing up clothing with and and the only merch

6:03 Speaker 2: they're selling is band related.

6:04 Speaker 1: So yeah, but there's but again from Cromart's position, see

6:09 Speaker 1: they're gonna argue, yeah, you're right, but what what what

6:13 Speaker 1: kind of merch do you sell that's band related clothing?

6:16 Speaker 1: T shirts?

6:18 Speaker 2: A T shirts.

6:20 Speaker 1: That's the argument they're gonna use.

6:21 Speaker 2: It's not a whole product, it's.

6:23 Speaker 1: You know, it'd be one thing if they were just

6:25 Speaker 1: selling CDs, you know, or something. But you're in the

6:28 Speaker 1: same industry, you're selling merch. But see but that all

6:31 Speaker 1: but see that, But that's the art. But they are,

6:33 Speaker 1: in a sense, and that's the argument.

6:35 Speaker 2: The same industry. They're in music.

6:37 Speaker 1: Merchandising of clothing. That is the same. And if you're

6:41 Speaker 1: in the music industry, you're in the merch you're in

6:43 Speaker 1: the merchandise industry.

6:44 Speaker 2: You are going to follows brand clothing like a brand,

6:48 Speaker 2: which I don't. But people who follow brand clothing.

6:52 Speaker 1: Don't confuse it with musicians.

6:54 Speaker 2: They might get interested in a brand, but they're not

6:56 Speaker 2: gonna confuse it. Oh, I thought you were selling T

7:00 Speaker 2: shirts in here?

7:01 Speaker 1: Why are there so many drums? Like?

7:02 Speaker 2: Come on, that doesn't happen. You don't go to the

7:05 Speaker 2: T shirts, you don't go to Marshal's. Walk over to

7:08 Speaker 2: the rack that's got chrome whatever here and look for

7:12 Speaker 2: Neil Young. It doesn't work that way.

7:14 Speaker 1: Right, I'm sorry, I don't no, I I hear you.

7:19 Speaker 2: Both of these stories are set to me today.

7:22 Speaker 1: I'm just a little bit. I'm just a little bit uncertain.

7:24 Speaker 1: We're gonna have to follow that one closely as it

7:26 Speaker 1: moves forward.

7:27 Speaker 2: Now, let's see there to it than.

7:29 Speaker 1: Very curious I'm missing or something. Yeah, I'm very curious

7:32 Speaker 1: to see how that ends up. I don't see consumer

7:34 Speaker 1: confusion here. Well, no, but from the from that statement

7:38 Speaker 1: from the lawsuit, it sounds like Cromart's is saying there's

7:40 Speaker 1: like confusion within the industry, within the fashion industry, give

7:44 Speaker 1: me a break, because they're getting orders from give me

7:47 Speaker 1: a break.

7:48 Speaker 2: I don't know, and they're getting orders from stupid people

7:50 Speaker 2: that don't know the difference between a musician and clothing designers.

7:55 Speaker 2: I don't think I'm sticking to it, all right, We

8:00 Speaker 2: dug in

8:01 Speaker 1: We gotta go, we gotta go.