Guess Who Has Settled Bitter Legal Issues Over Band Name

It took virtually a yr – and one terribly drastic authorized measure – however the Guess Who has settled an argument over management of the band.

Basic-era frontman Burton Cummings and co-founding guitarist Randy Bachman filed swimsuit in October 2023 towards authentic members Jim Kale and Garry Peterson over false promoting claims. Kale and Peterson had continued to tour because the Guess Who even after Bachman after which Cummings departed. Finally, they each left the highway too, despite the fact that followers had been nonetheless allegedly given the impression they’d see the creators of such radio favorites as “American Girl,” “No Time,” “These Eyes” and “Undun.”

Within the preliminary lawsuit, Bachman and Cummings described the trendy touring act as nothing greater than a “cowl band.” Cummings subsequently took issues one step additional, terminating the performing rights for these hits. Nobody, together with the present version of the Guess Who, could be allowed to sing their songs – and royalty funds from live shows, TV and film placements and radio performs abruptly stopped. The transfer was each unprecedented and efficient.

READ MORE: How the Guess Who Carried on After Randy Bachman

“It was painful, however we might have completed it indefinitely simply to cease that faux band from taking on our historical past,” Cummings tells Rolling Stone. “They took over streaming websites; they had been utilizing previous photographs of me and Randy. It will get me going interested by it, however that is over. It is a painful success. It price some huge cash with legal professionals and I gave up numerous publishing cash, however we lastly gained this horrible battle.”

Particulars of this new settlement weren’t launched, however Cummings and Bachman affirm that shared trademark rights have now been labored out with Kale and Peterson after a prolonged mediation course of in Los Angeles. Cummings and Bachman each expressed reduction that this ugly standoff was over. Cummings is even speaking about touring once more.

“If there’s a group on the market calling themselves the Guess Who, it is going to have the lead singer who wrote the songs and the guitarist who made the riffs,” he mentioned. “It should have Bachman and Cummings in it. I say ‘if’ as a result of we don’t know. Randy has numerous bookings and I’ve received solo gigs. What we do know is that Randy and I are comfortable as a result of there is not a faux Guess Who on the market anymore.”

Who Owns the Guess Who Trademark?

The Guess Who apparently by no means filed a trademark for the band title throughout their turn-of-the-’70s glory years. Kale belatedly secured one in 1986, then started mounting excursions because the Guess Who. Peterson rejoined him within the late ’80s, although the remainder of the lineup repeatedly modified. Then Kale retired in 2016 and Peterson started taking part in extra sometimes, leaving the Guess Who with none direct connection to the previous.

It was a bridge too far for Cummings. “We’re attempting to protect the historical past and the legacy of the Guess Who for our followers in every single place who’ve adopted the actual band and the actual songs,” he mentioned.

What turns into of the group that had been calling themselves the Guess Who’s unclear. Their Fb web page has vanished. The band’s official account on X has been scrubbed of all content material besides a screenshot and hyperlink to protection of this settlement – and an older put up selling their most up-to-date album, 2023’s Plein D’Amour. Cummings mentioned the LP goes to be faraway from the Guess Who’s official discography, although Plein D’Amour stays on Spotify.

“I am not involved with the opposite band. Don’t even know who they’re. It would not matter to me,” Bachman mentioned. “If you’re a soccer participant, you are not interested by who will get traded for you if you get signed by a staff. So far as I do know, they have been incomes a dwelling for many years, buying and selling off the Guess Who names and taking part in the songs that Burton and I wrote, pretending they had been us.”