In 1968, a band from England called Nirvana released a single entitled “Rainbow Chaser” and immediately dropped out of sight. That is, until a band from Seattle called Nirvana released a single entitled “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
The English Nirvana called their lawyer, claiming that they still owned the rights to that name. Kurt Cobain and the Seattle Nirvana told them to get stuffed. The whole thing ended up in court, anyway. When the dust settled, the Seattle Nirvana and their record company ended up paying the English Nirvana an undisclosed amount of cash in an out-of-court settlement (some say it was US$25,000). But at the same time, it was agreed that both bands could continue to use the same name.
There’s a lesson for you: before you get famous, make sure no one else already has dibs on your band’s name.
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