Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Bunny v. Bunny

The Original Bunny Gang says we were here first, “cease and desist.”
The Original Bunny Gang says we were here first, “cease and desist.”

“Received my very first cease-and-desist letter,” says Dustin Lothspeich of Bunny Gang. “Apparently some asshole in Flogging Molly wants our name for himself.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

The letter sent by a law firm on behalf of Flogging Molly bassist Nathen Maxwell reads, in part, “Your unauthorized use [of the name Bunny Gang] not only creates a likelihood of confusion but also directly infringes upon and diminishes the reputation, goodwill, commercial recognition and valuable intellectual property and publicity rights...our client has been publicly and continuously using the [trade]mark since February 2009 establishing uncontestable protections, as well as achieving secondary meaning distinction as a provider of unique entertainment services.”

White Rabbit, the debut album from Nathen Maxwell and the Original Bunny Gang (the group’s initial name), was released in September 2009, though he did not file his application for the trademark and service mark for “Bunny Gang” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office until August 28, 2012.

Lothspeich’s Bunny Gang — which includes Megan Liscomb (Owl Eyes) and Adam Eidson (Of Sons and Ghosts) — released their debut album on September 4. “We’re not just gonna give him our band name because he thinks he’s entitled to it,” Lothspeich tells the Reader. “Sorry, bud, we’ve been Bunny Gang since day one, and we’re not going anywhere.”

Lothspeich says he’d never heard of Maxwell’s group until the cease-and-desist letter, nor has he ever met or spoken to Maxwell. “This guy’s band has been ‘Nathen Maxwell and the Original Bunny Gang’ for the last three years. We come along and start releasing proper music...a month ago, [and] he decides to drop his entire name and only go by ‘Bunny Gang’...and trademark those words. Coincidence? We think not. Notice he’s not trying to trademark ‘Nathen Maxwell and the Original Bunny Gang.’ He’s trying to take our name for himself — after the fact.”

The Reader’s attempts to contact Maxwell via email, Facebook, and phone were unsuccessful. “Our initial reaction was to just comply with their demands and change our name,” says Lothspeich. “But, after consulting with our own legal counsel, we quickly realized that we actually have the upper hand and a very solid course of action against him if it comes to a court case....

“What they’re doing is trying to steal another band’s identity by using legal intimidation...that’s probably the main reason he never bothered to reach out to us personally about it. He knows he’s in the wrong.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?
Next Article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule
The Original Bunny Gang says we were here first, “cease and desist.”
The Original Bunny Gang says we were here first, “cease and desist.”

“Received my very first cease-and-desist letter,” says Dustin Lothspeich of Bunny Gang. “Apparently some asshole in Flogging Molly wants our name for himself.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

The letter sent by a law firm on behalf of Flogging Molly bassist Nathen Maxwell reads, in part, “Your unauthorized use [of the name Bunny Gang] not only creates a likelihood of confusion but also directly infringes upon and diminishes the reputation, goodwill, commercial recognition and valuable intellectual property and publicity rights...our client has been publicly and continuously using the [trade]mark since February 2009 establishing uncontestable protections, as well as achieving secondary meaning distinction as a provider of unique entertainment services.”

White Rabbit, the debut album from Nathen Maxwell and the Original Bunny Gang (the group’s initial name), was released in September 2009, though he did not file his application for the trademark and service mark for “Bunny Gang” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office until August 28, 2012.

Lothspeich’s Bunny Gang — which includes Megan Liscomb (Owl Eyes) and Adam Eidson (Of Sons and Ghosts) — released their debut album on September 4. “We’re not just gonna give him our band name because he thinks he’s entitled to it,” Lothspeich tells the Reader. “Sorry, bud, we’ve been Bunny Gang since day one, and we’re not going anywhere.”

Lothspeich says he’d never heard of Maxwell’s group until the cease-and-desist letter, nor has he ever met or spoken to Maxwell. “This guy’s band has been ‘Nathen Maxwell and the Original Bunny Gang’ for the last three years. We come along and start releasing proper music...a month ago, [and] he decides to drop his entire name and only go by ‘Bunny Gang’...and trademark those words. Coincidence? We think not. Notice he’s not trying to trademark ‘Nathen Maxwell and the Original Bunny Gang.’ He’s trying to take our name for himself — after the fact.”

The Reader’s attempts to contact Maxwell via email, Facebook, and phone were unsuccessful. “Our initial reaction was to just comply with their demands and change our name,” says Lothspeich. “But, after consulting with our own legal counsel, we quickly realized that we actually have the upper hand and a very solid course of action against him if it comes to a court case....

“What they’re doing is trying to steal another band’s identity by using legal intimidation...that’s probably the main reason he never bothered to reach out to us personally about it. He knows he’s in the wrong.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?
Next Article

Melissa Etheridge, The Imaginary Amazon

Events April 1-April 3, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.