Alan Jardine wins latest Beach Boys court battle against Mike Love

From CMU (although I could not find a link).

Beach Boys Battles move on

CMU reports:

Former Beach Boy Al Jardine is about to bite back after finally winning his long running battle to use the Beach Boys name on his live shows.

That battle began when a court ruled in 2001 that he couldn't use the words 'Beach Boys' in the title of his live shows. The ruling was the result of legal action by fellow former bandmate Mike Love. Love claimed he had acquired exclusive rights to the moniker after Carl Wilson's death in 1998. The courts agreed with him and banned Jardine from touring as 'Beach Boys Family & Friends', 'Al Jardine Beach Boy' and 'Al Jardine of the Beach Boys'. Jardine has since been trying to overturn that decision.

Things looked bad in early October when the US Supreme Court backed the decisions of lower courts that Jardine should not be allowed to even launch an appeal. But at the end of October the courts backed down, the California Court of Appeal heard his case and overturned the 2001 ruling.

In response to that court decision Jardine has now launched a bid to sue Love for damages, claiming he lost millions in gig revenues for the two years that he was banned from using the Beach Boys name. Speaking to Billboard yesterday Jardine said he reckoned his losses were "something in the tens of millions of dollars" but added "it's about much more than just the money. I want to be able to tour again, and to be able to identify myself as a Beach Boy again."

A trial date is expected in mid-2004.
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Good for Al, but sad all around really. These guys toured and recorded together for over 25, probably 30 years. Too bad it has to come down to this.

 

So how did Mike Love "acquire" the exclusive rights to thee Beach Boys name?

 

Maybe Al will have some "Karmic justice" at last! Not to get into Mike Love bashing, but.....

 

Well, as much as it might be nice, this lawsuit looks like it's without merit. It's like me selling soda by calling it "Coke", then Coca Cola suing me to cease using their trademark, and I comply. Then sales go down so I sue Coke for lost profits. Does this make any sense?

 

Well you could look at this argument from the other side of what your saying. The other way to look at your argument is that Coke could well sue you for the profit they lost while you were selling product with the Coke name. So it's all a matter of perspective and we will see what the court case does.

 

I guess the key piece is the overturned ruling. Hopefully Jardine can just go on & use the Beach Boy (or ex member) name without turning this into another circus. Personally though I imagine he wants to grind Love to a pulp.

It's inconceivable to me that Brian Wilson doesn't own the Beach Boys name/rights lock, stock & barrel, but I guess he kinda gave up there for a long time..

 

Heh. If it weren't about the money, why would he be suing for it?

 

No Love lost

I wish Al all the best, I think Mike is a jerk!

 

Since the slow demise of the group after 1966's peak with the release of Good Vibrations, Mike Love has consistently acted in a manner that demeans the memory of the Beach Boys. Particularly for a guy who comes off as holier than thou, with all of his nammering about inner peace and TM, his actions have been downright remarkable, culminating in his litigation against Brian and now Al. As if his touring with Bruce Johnston is any more "The Beach Boys" than would be a pickup band with David Marks or Blondie Chaplin. At least Al Jardine had the decency to tour with Brian's daughters. From written accounts, Dennis came up with the best revenge against his cousin Mike. Love should be sentenced to have to listen to "Looking Back With Love" nonstop for a month. Or maybe the "MIU Album." How about "Everyone's In Love With You?"
Ouch.

 

The flaw in that analogy is that Mike Love's band isn't really legitimately the Beach Boys any more than Al Jardine's band is. A better analogy would be: Coca Cola goes out of business. Then two former owners of the corporation both start selling separate sodas and calling them Coca Cola, and then one sues the other to stop it.

 

Well, I wasn't arguing that point at all. The issue is who owns the rights to call themselves or use the Beach Boys name or trademark. If one former "owner" has the rights and the other doesn't, then the other former "owner" is S.O.L. But thankfully the court overturned Love's absolute claim to it for whatever reason, so I guess Jardine has a shot. "Tens of millions" is a total bunch of bull though. How does he suppose he's worth that much for a few years work? He's trying to b*tch-slap Love with this suit, and I say that's great, but tens of millions??! It makes him look rediculous.

 

I think that there's been some "karmic justice" via the fact that in recent years, Brian's had a bit of a comeback with touring, tribute concerts and the fact that he's getting the acclaim for being the driving force behind the Beach Boys.

Everyone knows Mike Love has milked the Beach Boys' name dry. The name should have been retired after Carl Wilson died. Brian may have been the creator, but it was Carl who kept it going from a musical standpoint after Brian lost his way.

 

Agreed.

Mike Love can go back to work pumping gas and Jardine can do back to dental school.

 

Re: Re: Alan Jardine wins latest Beach Boys court battle against Mike Love

The group name is owned by the Brother Records partnership. A majority vote of the principals of Brother (that majority would be Brian Wilson, Mike Love and the estate of Carl Wilson), gave Love the exclusive rights to use the name. Jardine was outvoted.

Go figure...

 

Anything that leaves egomaniac Mike Love twisting his nipples is OK with me.

 

I have to chuckle at this Beach boys "in-fighting" because, IMO, without Brian Wilson the Beach Boys would not have existed. Even if they had, we would not be listening to them almost 40 years on.

Mike Love may have been "the voice" of the Beach Boys, but Brian, as with Jimmy in The Wonders, was "The Talent."

 

I think I have to side with Al on this one. Being forbidden to advertise his shows without any connection to his claim to fame is a little drastic. It doesn't appear as if he's trying to claim his band IS The Beach Boys, just to make a connection to identify himself to the audience. On the oldies circuit - the singers from long defunct doo-wop groups almost always advertise their shows with a reference to their original groups. There are many fans out there who have no time in their lives to remember any name other than "The Beach Boys" - Al Jardine would be a stranger to them.

 

Re: Re: Re: Alan Jardine wins latest Beach Boys court battle against Mike Love

Dennis' estate also is represented in the voting, is it not?

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Alan Jardine wins latest Beach Boys court battle against Mike Love

Possibly not, as his status with the group was off and on in the last few years before his death.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Alan Jardine wins latest Beach Boys court battle against Mike Love

No. Brian, Carl, Mike & Al bought-out his share, from his widow Shawn, in the early/mid 80's.

 

Can the Beach Boys stop touring, please?

Soon I'll be touring as part of the Beach Boys- what a mess this group has become.

 

I don't think most fans had a problem with Jardine touring under the name Beach Boys Family and Friends.

Can I join up as a road manager?

 

Re: Re: Re: Alan Jardine wins latest Beach Boys court battle against Mike Love

Actually, Al was offered a license to tour with his own band. However, Al did not like the terms and the royalty rate that had to be paid to BRI (Brother Records, Inc.) and thus declined.

In fairness to Al, the deck was probably stacked against him as Love didn't want any serious competition in the touring department (i.e. his meat and potatoes these days).

However unfair this may seem (and I do agree it is unfair), remember in the late 70's/early 80's that even though all five founding members were still alive (although two were barely functioning), there were times that not one single Wilson brother was on stage at a BB concert. I believe that as a result of this, an agreement was drawn up in the unlikely event of a splinter faction touring as the Beach Boys or using the BB name in any way. I don't think anyone thought what could happen twenty years down the road.

Regardless, I hope this can all be worked out so Al can identify himself as a BB when he tours.

 

Hey, if John Stamos can.....