TGS Baltic has represented Juri Roosa and Freddy Tomingas, members of the Estonian punk rock band Vanemode Veljo Vingissar, in a dispute over the band’s name with former member Andrus Kerstenbeck. The case was heard by the Harju County Court.
According to TGS Baltic, Andrus Kerstenbeck started performing under the name Vanemode several years ago. The firm reported that the court found that by considering how active the band was in the 1980s, the “Vanemode” mark is well-known and that the right to its name does not belong to any one of its members. In addition, TGS Baltic reported, the court found that it is “misleading to the audience and to the public when the plaintiff alone performs as band Vanemode with outsiders by discarding other founders and later members of [the] band.”
Finally, the firm reported, the Harju County Court ruled that Kerstenbeck has no right to prevent other members of the band from registering Vanemode as a trademark.
TGS Baltic’s team consisted of Partner Peeter Viirsalu, Senior Associate Nigul Saar, and Associate Silvia Urgas.
