Members of ‘80s Dance Band Exposé, Not Corporation, Own Rights in Mark

A federal district court did not err in concluding that the members of the 1980s dance band Exposé were the holders of the service mark rights in the band’s name, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled June 21 (Crystal Entertainment and Filmworks Inc. v. Jurado, 11th Cir., 10-11837, 6/21/11).

The court agreed with the lower court’s conclusion that under a test for joint endeavors, the band members, and not the company that first put the band together and collected royalties from the sales of the recordings, controlled the quality and output of the services ...