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Judge Orders Tommy Lee's Supernova To Change Name
09/13/2006 3:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Lyndsey Parker
When the finale of Rock Star: Supernova airs tonight on CBS, it may be the final time we hear the name "Supernova" associated with the new band featuring Motley Crue's Tommy Lee, Guns N' Roses' Gilby Clarke, and former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted.
The three metal men began searching for a singer for their new project earlier this summer, on the second season of Rock Star (season one was launched to find a replacement for late INXS frontman Michael Hutchence). And pretty much since Lee and company announced that their new supergroup would be called Supernova, a California-based punk band by the same name has been trying to stop them.
The original Supernova formed in 1989 and released three albums in the '90s, including one on major label Atlantic Records; they are probably best known for contributing the song "Chewbacca" to the Clerks soundtrack. And now, after filing for a preliminary injunction protecting their name, they have officially triumphed in a California court.
A California judge ruled today--ironically while the Rock Star: Supernova finale was being taped nearby--that Tommy Lee's reality show band must find a new name, because an established recording artist called Supernova already exists.
"The ruling is a major victory for Supernova, especially since it has been announced on several occasions that our client's case had no merit," the original Supernova's attorney, John Mizhir Jr., told Billboard. "This is sweet justice. The order also proves that the law does not discriminate. The band members have worked hard for the past 17 years to establish the name Supernova and they are entitled to continue to perform without any other parties--large or small--infringing on their rights."
Now that Tommy Lee's band is forbidden to use the Supernova name for performances and recordings, we'll have to wait and see how this affects the Rock Star finale that airs tonight, or the group's already-booked North American tour that kicks off on New Year's Eve in Las Vegas.
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