Money, money, money: ABBA sues over Abba Mania cover band

MTL Cannabis

04/12/2021 24:17

By Jonathan Stempel
    NEW YORK, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The Swedish pop supergroup ABBA
on Friday filed a lawsuit to stop a British cover band known as
Abba Mania from using that name.
    In a complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in
Manhattan, lawyers for ABBA accused Abba Mania's managers of
"parasitic and bad-faith conduct" by trading off ABBA's goodwill
and cachet in promoting Abba Mania.
    ABBA said the defendants have ignored its demands to stop
using Abba Mania on social media, YouTube and the abbamania.com
website, or take its suggestion to use "ABBA Tribute" in a way
that won't confuse people.
    The corporate defendants include Handshake Ltd of
Manchester, England, and TAL Entertainment Ltd of Bicester,
England.
    Neither immediately responded on Friday to requests for
comment outside business hours.
    ABBA's trademark infringement lawsuit comes amid a U.S. tour
for Abba Mania, which calls itself "The Original Tribute from
London's West End!", that includes a Feb. 2022 date in
Middletown, New York, about a 90-minute drive from Manhattan.
    Polar Music International AB, the named plaintiff, has
handled ABBA business affairs since the group's 1972 founding in
Stockholm. Its lawsuit also seeks a variety of damages.
    Abba Mania's website says "Abba Mania is in no way
associated, affiliated, or endorsed by Polar Music or ABBA" in
small capital letters.
    ABBA has sold https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/super-trouper-abba-storm-uk-charts-with-comeback-album-2021-11-12
 an estimated 385 million records, and is known for such songs
as "Waterloo," "Dancing Queen," "Money, Money, Money" and "The
Winner Takes It All." It was also one of the first acts to use
music videos to promote its music.
    The group last month released https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sos-abbas-bjorn-says-new-album-may-be-last-recording-2021-11-05
 its first new album in 40 years, "Voyage," and is planning a
stage show featuring digital avatars of its members, who are now
in their 70s, replicating their 1970s look.
    
     

 (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York
Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
 ((jon.stempel@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6317; Reuters
Messaging: jon.stempel.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))