Black Flag co-founder Greg Ginn has filed a lawsuit against his former bandmates for alleged copyright infringement.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ginn believes the band FLAG, consisting of Keith Morris, Dez Cadena, Chuck Dukowski and Bill Stevenson, infringe on the Black Flag rights owned by him and his label SST Records. Former member Henry Rollins, who is in neither of the two touring Black Flag reunion groups, is also named in the suit.
Ginn claims he and his label SST Records own the exclusive rights to the Black Flag Name – and FLAG variation – and the band’s logo, which Flag currently use on tour. Ginn issued the lawsuit on Friday (August 2) and is seeking an injunction against Flag’s current tour, which kicked off in May and will see the band, pending the outcome of the lawsuit, play Los Angeles’ FYF Fest on August 24.
The suit describes the alleged infringement of the logo and describes FLAG as “as “a colorable imitation” that’s “likely to cause confusion, mistake or deception among consumers”. Ginn alleges his former bandmates “of lying to the Trademark Office on registrations; using his own label’s record covers to feign as though they’ve been continuing to use Black Flag since 1979 and using bootleg SST t-shirts.”
Ginn’s Black Flag are currently touring and play Universum in Stuttgart, Germany tomorrow night (August 5).