Commodores’ Award for Former Member’s Trademark Use Affirmed

The soul group Commodores is entitled to damages for both the U.S. and European misuse of its trademarks by former member Thomas McClary, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed Thursday.

McClary was an original member of the group, but left in 1984. He later formed his own group, which performed as “The 2014 Commodores” and “The Commodores featuring Thomas McClary.” The original Commodores, as Commodores Entertainment Corp., sued McClary in Florida in 2014, bringing trademark infringement and other claims.

The district court granted CEC a preliminary injunction banning McClary from using the Commodores name, and later ...