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[radrock]

Hello,

I found your page upon searching band name trademark advice.  I play for a band called The New Absolutes.  We were in the process of trademarking it when a lawyer told us that we would face litigation from Absolut vodka down the line.   She is a trademark lawyer, but she has never dealt with bands before.   Absolut has a Class 41 trademark registration with absoluttracks.com, where they take known artists and produce songs for online download.  

Obviously, you can't put a trademark on the English language if the usage is different enough.   Whitesnake, White Zombie, White Lion, The White Stripes & Whitecross all having white in the title, but still being different enough to get their name trademarked.  I don't feel that Absolut vodka is going to be confused with our name The New Absolutes.

We are not a big band.  We are very young as a band and just made our first recording last saturday.  However, we are in this for the long haul.  Your expertise is in music and representing bands.  Do you feel that we would face trouble down the road, or not likely?  If there are any experts in band trademarking and advice thereof, your help is greatly appreciated.

I would also ask that anyone replying to this post please send a copy to info@thenewabsolutes.com, just so I can have a copy on my computer.

Danny Carlton
www.thenewabsolutes.com

[Isaac]

I'd recommend listening to your lawyer's advice.

[JSonnabend]

I don't necessarily agree that your band's name is legally problematic (as your lawyer and Isaac seem to suggest).  I do think you're likely to face some opposition from Absolut, but that doesn't mean they're right.

The real question is how attached to the name are you and/or how much are you willing to fight if need be?  A trademark fight can be costly in both time and money and can distract from the more important task of getting your music heard.  (Then again, there's no such thing as bad publicity).  On the other hand, it may be easier to change your name now before anyone's heard of you than later on after you've gained some traction.

- Jeff

[Isaac]

I did not mean to express any opinion on the merits of the case.  I just suspect that what the OP says is a condensed version of the trademark lawyer's more nuanced answer.  

Jeff's answer provides great advice, but I wonder if the OP's attorney did not do an equally good job.

Sorry if my answer was curt.