All is Not Sublime for the Band
Court blocks surviving members from using name.
The situation is not so sublime between surviving members of the 90's ska-punk band and the estate of lead singer Bradley Nowell. Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh have been ordered by a Los Angeles judge to stop performing under the name Sublime.
A trademark lawsuit was brought on by the Nowell family after it was discovered that Wilson, Gaugh and new lead vocalist Rome Ramirez had revived the moniker after years of performing as the Long Beach Dub Allstars. As the band readied for a performance at the Oct 24 Cypress Hill Smokeout Festival, the Nowell estate, who also control all the swag associated with the name, filed a lawsuit on Oct. 21 in the Los Angeles Superior Court and a preliminary injunction was issued.
The Nowell family, or as it has been alleged by Nicole Gaugh, drummer Bud Gaugh's wife, the record label, posted an emotional plea to fans on Sublime's MySpace page stating, "Prior to his untimely passing, both Bud and Eric acknowledged that Brad Nowell was the sole owner of the name Sublime. It was Brad's expressed intention that no one use the name Sublime in any group that did not include him, and Brad even registered the trademark Sublime' under his own name."
On Nov 3 Judge Howard Matz cited the likelihood of the family estate prevailing on its trademark claim and asked attorneys to draw up a written injunction for him to sign. The injunction prohibits Wilson and Gaugh from "using the "Sublime" name and trademark in connection with any live performances or "musical sound recordings;" on any clothing, posters, books related to music, calendars, decals or stickers; and using any Internet domain name containing the "Sublime" name or trademark, or any other confusingly similar domain name."
