Jelly Roll sued by Philadelphia-area wedding band Jellyroll over trademark infringement
AUSTIN, TEXAS - APRIL 07: Jelly Roll performs during the 2024 CMT Music Awards at Moody Center on April 07, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Taylor Hill/WireImage)
PHILADELPHIA - It's Jellyroll versus Jelly Roll! A popular local wedding band is taking on a chart-topping country artist for allegedly harming their business and reputation by name association.
In a lawsuit filed last week, Jellyroll, the Delaware County band, sued Jelly Roll the singer for copyright infringement, claiming they first adopted the name in the 80s.
"The Plaintiff, professionally known as Jellyroll, has been providing musical and vocal accompaniment for celebratory and charitable events first in the Delaware Valley and now throughout the Northeast part of the United States since at least 1980," the lawsuit states.
The 39-year-old country star, whose real name is Jason DeFord, was born four years after the band started performing around the Philadelphia area.
"Conversely, the Defendant, who was not born until 1984 in Antioch, Tennessee, claims in published interviews that his mother referred to him as Jelly Roll as a small child."
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Jelly Roll's similar name and recent success has hurt the wedding band in Google searches, leading to a loss in bookings, according to the lawsuit.
"Now, any such search on Google returns multiple references to Defendant, perhaps as many as 18-20 references before any reference to Plaintiff’s entertainment dance band known as Jellyroll® can be found."
In addition, the lawsuit claims the singer's past incarceration for felony robbery charges has harmed the band's reputation.
"Because of Defendant’s troubled past, which includes a felony conviction and imprisonment, such association as averred above has caused additional harm to Plaintiff among the public and trade."
So far, no comment from Jellyroll, or Jelly Roll.