UK tribute band getting a cease and desist

2-feign-reluctance

on2legs said:

I'm missing why this is a big deal.   I'm no lawyer, but I'm guessing Pearl Jam would have been well within their rights to just skip the letter and sue them for infringement, no?  But instead they made a polite yet firm request for them to cease & desist.  Basically saying... please stop infringing on our name and we'll be cool and not sue you.  That doesn't really make the band bad guys to me.  But maybe I'm missing something here. 

Yep. Let’s bump some other threads! 

drakeheuer14

on2legs said:

I'm missing why this is a big deal.   I'm no lawyer, but I'm guessing Pearl Jam would have been well within their rights to just skip the letter and sue them for infringement, no?  But instead they made a polite yet firm request for them to cease & desist.  Basically saying... please stop infringing on our name and we'll be cool and not sue you.  That doesn't really make the band bad guys to me.  But maybe I'm missing something here. 

Seems like they just wish Ed would have skyped them and asked instead of a formal letter from representation. Not too much to ask, right?

Smellyman

drakeheuer14 said:

on2legs said:

I'm missing why this is a big deal.   I'm no lawyer, but I'm guessing Pearl Jam would have been well within their rights to just skip the letter and sue them for infringement, no?  But instead they made a polite yet firm request for them to cease & desist.  Basically saying... please stop infringing on our name and we'll be cool and not sue you.  That doesn't really make the band bad guys to me.  But maybe I'm missing something here. 

Seems like they just wish Ed would have skyped them and asked instead of a formal letter from representation. Not too much to ask, right?

I called them and we had a great chat.  It is a bummer lawyers got involved since we came to the mutual understanding that they could keep the name Pearl Jamm.   I am a big fan of their music and their mmerch has some amazing artistry.

Keep on Jamming.

Sincerely,

Eddie Vedderr

HJF

The Irish tribute band 'Pearl Jem' changed their name to Light Years and it wasn't a big deal. 

From their facebook page (Light Years - Ireland):  "We have taken the decision to change our name to Light Years, with our best intentions being to keep the identity of the Pearl Jam name pure, and to maintain its strength for years to come.

We have worked with Pearl Jam on choosing our new name and will be continuing to celebrate their wonderful music when we will see you at a show in 2021.

Thank You, Light Years"

They're still the same cover band and same members, they play great and everything - literally just changed their name and problem solved. I think Pearl Jamm should have just done the same instead of making a big deal out of it. Obviously the band (pearl jam) doesn't have an issue with having cover bands - this seems to just be about the similar name/merch & images. 

igotid88

rummy said:

Off topic but the Foos are bigger than PJ? Damn.

Unfortunately. Plus Foo are everywhere. Dave is the go to rock guy at awards shows and stuff. And are pretty much treated nicely by their fans.
Eddie could write a letter about postponing the tour and all everyone could argue about was why he wrote Ed and Pearl Jam. Dave writes a letter and everyone is "omg what a great letter."

Smellyman

igotid88 said:

rummy said:

Off topic but the Foos are bigger than PJ? Damn.

Unfortunately. Plus Foo are everywhere. Dave is the go to rock guy at awards shows and stuff. And are pretty much treated nicely by their fans.
Eddie could write a letter about postponing the tour and all everyone could argue about was why he wrote Ed and Pearl Jam. Dave writes a letter and everyone is "omg what a great letter."

And they are super poppy.

'Life's a Bitch, but Keep on Truckin'

lastexitlondon

Can't stand the foo s
Not for me.

Spiritual_Chaos

rummy said:

Off topic but the Foos are bigger than PJ? Damn.

They are a huge (the biggest?) mainstream rock band...

Pearl Jam played for something like 23.000 people here (And couldn't sell out that arena fully)

Foo Fighters play for 50.000+ people here. Like Metallica, Guns. Bruce etc.

Gern Blansten

lastexitlondon said:

Can't stand the foo s
Not for me.

They have a few songs that I absolutely love.  Stacked Actors and White Limo for sure.

But yeah...now it seems manufactured.  And their live shows are scripted as hell.  A few years back I saw them in like September and then again in May.  They did the same fucking show with a few exceptions and TOLD THE SAME FUCKING JOKES during breaks.

crookedcross

After reading so much butthurt over this, I'm not sure that a lot of those people know/fully understand what a cease and desist is. 

PB11041

Copyright law is pretty serious, and it amazes me how little people know and undertand about it but think that it is no big deal to infringe on someone elses intellectual property.   Basically, if Pearl Jam lets one thing go, they slowly let it all go.  So when it comes to their actual name, it is not terribly surprising that this ask happens.

cp3iverson

Yep.  How is this even an argument? Lol.  Im with Shza.  This is the best thing that ever happened to that band. They made it on to the BBC for this!  

The irish band handled it perfectly.  No complaining on twitter.  Statement that makes it sound important and fun. 

Just become “Gems and Rhinestones” or something.  They can throw in some Neil Diamond covers in their encores as well

HughFreakingDillon

Gern Blansten said:

lastexitlondon said:

Can't stand the foo s
Not for me.

They have a few songs that I absolutely love.  Stacked Actors and White Limo for sure.

But yeah...now it seems manufactured.  And their live shows are scripted as hell.  A few years back I saw them in like September and then again in May.  They did the same fucking show with a few exceptions and TOLD THE SAME FUCKING JOKES during breaks.

this is how a lot of bands operate. we've been spoiled into thinking the way PJ does it is the norm. it isn't. 

pledgeagrievance

“Sorry, we strictly play 80s Joel”

on2legs

Smellyman said:

drakeheuer14 said:

on2legs said:

I'm missing why this is a big deal.   I'm no lawyer, but I'm guessing Pearl Jam would have been well within their rights to just skip the letter and sue them for infringement, no?  But instead they made a polite yet firm request for them to cease & desist.  Basically saying... please stop infringing on our name and we'll be cool and not sue you.  That doesn't really make the band bad guys to me.  But maybe I'm missing something here. 

Seems like they just wish Ed would have skyped them and asked instead of a formal letter from representation. Not too much to ask, right?

I called them and we had a great chat.  It is a bummer lawyers got involved since we came to the mutual understanding that they could keep the name Pearl Jamm.   I am a big fan of their music and their mmerch has some amazing artistry.

Keep on Jamming.

Sincerely,

Eddie Vedderr

That was pretty funnyy

Ledbetterman10

demetrios said:

https://www.facebook.com/pearljammband/posts/1674076889459143

Pearl Jamm Tribute

To Eddie, Jeff, Stone, Mike, Matt, Boom; to Pearl Jam, you have broken our hearts.

You have known of our tribute band for years yet have waited until a global pandemic to have threatening legal letters sent. This isn’t the Pearl Jam we know and love, the Pearl Jam that stands up for social issues and against corporate giants. Yet your lawyers tell us it is indeed you, the band, that are behind this.

We know how Matt Cameron felt about his heroes, Kiss, when they took umbrage to his own tribute band ‘kiss’ (lower case). No one has ever confused us or our merchandise with you or your merchandise, and so to say that is “likely” is clearly nonsense. We have not caused you or your brand any damage whatsoever, in fact we have done quite the opposite.

Such was the pressure exerted by the aggressive wording of the legal letters we received, we have questioned whether we even want to continue. We know of at least one other tribute band that decided to call it a day over this. It may have been easier, cheaper and more effective for one of you to reach out to us personally. We would have done that for you. But not like this.

Your actions are out of character and unreasonable yet our love for the music endures. We sincerely hope that, despite confirmation to the contrary, you are blissfully unaware of actions being taken in your name. We invite you to respond either publicly or privately and rescind the legal threats that have been made.

We would like to thank our own fans who have shown us overwhelming support since this story broke and who have voiced equal disappointment in the actions of Pearl Jam

With love,

Santi, Richard, Matt, Tim & Andy (‘Pearl Jamm’)

#pearljam #pearljamm #eddievedder #stonegossard #mikemccready #mattcameron #jeffament #boomgasper #tributeband #pearljamtribute

lol, Matt was thirteen at the time. If you're going to be heartbroken over the real band not wanting your tribute band to use a name too similar to theirs, thirteen is the age for it. 

Spiritual_Chaos

Why doesn't Matt force in more KISS covers into the Pearl Jam setlist

IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!

cp3iverson

Spiritual_Chaos said:

Why doesn't Matt force in more KISS covers into the Pearl Jam setlist

IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!

Black Diamond i enjoy.  Id be ok with that replacing RITFW

Cal.PJ.C

Wow this tribute bands merch sales must have really been cutting into Pearl Jams profit. Hope the guys still have hot water running

xjoshfromworkx

Something being overlooked her is that Pearl Jamm just got a really rare piece of Pearl Jam merch, the cease & desist letter has to be pretty limited.

I agree with PJ on this one, can't let something like this go because it opens the door to more bands to do it to them or other bands. If they knew about the tribute band for awhile and just now pulled the trigger on it, perhaps PJ should've pulled the trigger on this at the time rather than let the tribute band carry on for so long and build a fan base under this name.

Whatever, not our place to decide how they run things.