Zappa.com

Sure you can call your band Rammstein... I know of at least 3 bands called Z, and at least 2 bands called The Beat. It just wouldn't be very smart because Rammstein is much of an institution by now.

I'm not sure how that would work with companies. But the fact that Zappa is a fashion brand and an energy drink, and the fact that Bonny is a brand of girl toys, a brand of ice cream decoration and a brand of bananas does point in the possible direction.

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I can surely understand that if the premise is that the Zappanale is sufficiently dissimilar to not violate the trademark, then it is fine. I am just confused by this wording (maybe it is Speigel who got it wrong) that because Zappa is not actively promoted in Germany, it is "okay". I mean noone in Denmark knows about Walgreens, but I doubt I could survive calling my p harmacy by that name, or say, Wallgreenpills, for very long.

EDIT: I wrote a ph word that was *SPAM*

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"Everybody in this room is wearing a uniform, and don't kid yourself" - FZ
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Probably. But if I refrained from gaining 50 kilos and did not perform seminaked covered in grease AND cleared my throat before singing, then maybe the dissimilarity with the German band would be sufficiently little?

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"Everybody in this room is wearing a uniform, and don't kid yourself" - FZ
http://www.myspace.com/kirnehness

Rammstein sure did use awesome effects in its videos! In Sonne, they created the Seven (six) Dwarfs effect by using a real tall basketball player and pasting Snow White's head over it. Doesn't show!

Thing is, it's not in the interest of your medicine-dealing-centre to name it just like some popular hardware store. You'd sooner seek a name that's unique in your branch and its area.

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I'm not a laywer but I think what I've read so far from the court isn't persuasive at all. HJ already mentioned the doubts I've got as well. Maybe ZFT will appeal the sentence and go to a higher court - if it's possible in this case.

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Which means they'll need to pump out a bunch more CD/DVD releases, to pay for it.

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Or that they will delay further releases because they spent all the money on grey attorneys...

This article is not news, but the final sentence is troubling:

"Besides continuing YouTube take-down notices, the FZT has now forbidden Napoleon Murphy Brock, a former Zappa collaborator, from playing Frank Zappa's songs on his forthcoming tour."

WTF?


Frank Zappa's widow loses battle with German festival
Gail Zappa has failed in her bid to stop Zappanale, a festival celebrating her late husband's work, from using his image and trademark
Sean Michaels
Thursday 29 January 2009 11.56 GMT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/ja ... ttle/print

Call it a Zappa civil war. Fans, former bandmates and a German festival devoted to Frank Zappa are all trading blows with Gail Zappa, Frank's widow, and her Zappa Family Trust (ZFT).

According to Zappa fansites, the ZFT is on a copyright rampage – taking down YouTube videos, stopping tribute nights and even writing to internet service providers of fans who trade Zappa bootlegs. Prominent members of the Zappa fan community are now sporting "Stop Gail" T-shirts and a petition opposing her has gathered more than 3,000 signatures.

The most recent battleground is the Zappanale, a festival that has for 20 years taken place in the German town of Bad Doberan. At the time of its founding, Zappa albums were illegal in East Germany. Now the three-day event attracts thousands of fans with what organisers describe as "Zappa-esque rock".

The trouble, according to the ZFT, was with the Zappanale's merchandising. T-shirts bearing Zappa-esque facial hair – a soul-patch and moustache – allegedly violated the musician's trademark, and brought on Gail Zappa's legal team. The ZFT sued for €150,000 in damages and a further €250,000 if the Zappanale continued to sell the merchandise.

Thomas Dippel, president of the non-profit Arf Society that organises the festival, insisted that they had been trying for years to get Gail Zappa's approval for the event. When the group unveiled a statue of Zappa in Bad Doberan, he said, they invited the entire Zappa family.

The statue, Gail Zappa told Spiegel Online, is an "impish creature" that "doesn't look like Frank Zappa unless you argue that putting a moustache on any face looks like Frank Zappa". "I've long known that there was this quote-unquote festival slash event slash what the fuck," she said. "[But] I felt we were getting into territory where we were putting the audience at risk in terms of who Frank was. You become concerned."

Dippel disagreed. "The reactions we have received are almost all completely furious with Gail Zappa," he told Spiegel Online. "I have the impression that she wants to prevent Zappa music from being played, except by her son. Zappa his whole life long was for artistic freedom. There is a story, though it may not be true, that Zappa on his deathbed said: 'Play my music, whether you're a musician or not, play my music.'"

The courts ultimately agreed with the Zappanale, ruling on 22 January that the FZT did not actively use its trademark in Germany, and that the Zappanale logo was easily distinguishable from Frank Zappa's official one. But Gail Zappa's disputes with the fan community are not over. Besides continuing YouTube take-down notices, the FZT has now forbidden Napoleon Murphy Brock, a former Zappa collaborator, from playing Frank Zappa's songs on his forthcoming tour.

Ok, got it: http://www.killuglyradio.com/2009/01/21 ... k-edition/

It will all mean nothing when we are driving our flying cars and all music will be free! Free as the wind!

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If you stop giving money to ZFT, they she will get even more aggressive. Give all of your money to ZFT. It's the only way to be sure.

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