Glenn Danzig sues former Misfits bandmate over skull logo ownership
Glenn Danzig is suing his former Misfits bandmate over the rights to one of punk rock’s most iconic images. Danzig claims that bassist Jerry Only has cheated him out of royalties from the Misfits’ infamous skull logo, inking merchandising deals without proper permission from the rest of the group. Danzig’s lawsuit against Only, whose real name is Gerald Caiafa, was reportedly filed on 3 April in a California district court. According to Re-Tox (via Exclaim), Danzig accuses Only of misappropriating the Misfits’ trademarks in 2000, re-registering the marks under his own name. This allegedly contradicts the band’s own merchandising contract from 1994, where they agreed to share ownership of the group’s trademarks.
Once Only controlled trademarks such as the Misfits’ spooky Crimson Ghost cranium, he “secretly” negotiated merchandising deals with retailers such as Hot Topic, Danzig has said. It is alleged that Only withheld all of the ensuing profits and threatened to cancel any agreement if these retail partners contacted Danzig.
Only has yet to respond to Danzig’s claims. The bassist has led the Misfits since Danzig’s departure in 1983, touring and releasing new studio albums. He and Danzig “are brothers,” Only said in a 2012 interview. “Whether we get together and do something again, that’s yet to be seen, but … nothing is out of the realm of possibility right now.”
Source: The Guardian
