Screengrab via YouTube
The band Lady A, formerly known as Lady Antebellum, have sued Anita White, the Seattle-based blues singer who has performed under the name Lady A for over 20 years.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the band’s lawsuit is “seeking a ruling that their use of the trademark ‘Lady A’ does not infringe on White’s alleged trademark rights of the same name.” The report also noted that the group isn’t seeking monetary damages from the singer.
In a separate report from People.com, the band’s lawsuit against White came about after she asked for $10 million.
“Today we are sad to share that our sincere hope to join together with Anita White in unity and common purpose has ended,” they said in a statement. “She and her team have demanded a $10 million payment, so reluctantly we have come to the conclusion that we need to ask a court to affirm our right to continue to use the name Lady A, a trademark we have held for many years.”
“We never even entertained the idea that she shouldn’t also be able to use the name Lady A, and never will – today’s action doesn’t change that,” the statement also said. “Instead, we shared our stories, listened to each other, prayed and spent hours on the phone and text writing a song about this experience together. We felt we had been brought together for a reason and saw this as living out the calling that brought us to make this change in the first place.”
In the suit, the band said that it has used Lady A interchangeably with Lady Antebellum as early as 2006, and applied to register the name for live musical performances and streaming musical program in 2010. Later on, the band applied to register the Lady A name for musical recordings and clothing, and their applications didn’t receive any opposition at the time.
Since then, White has addressed the lawsuit on her Instagram, sharing a report of the suit on her story with the comment: “You finally realize your name is racially problematic so you shorten it, but then sue the Black woman that has been using that name for almost two decades….That’s some white privilege.”
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