American Country singer Jelly Roll in a jam

As far as performer names go, Jelly Roll is arguably one of the more distinctive ones out there (certainly to UK fans who are more accustomed to Swiss Rolls). Nevertheless, the country singer Jelly Roll has found himself in hot water following receipt of a trade mark infringement lawsuit filed by the Pennsylvanian wedding band Jellyroll. 

The band Jellyroll's trade mark has been registered at the USPTO since 2010 for entertainment services and claims a first use date that predates Jelly Roll's birth. Jelly Roll (apparently a nickname that his mum gave him when growing up) has been on the country music scene for a number of years but has increasingly grown in popularity both in the US and internationally (as one of my husband's favourite artists he features frequently on our Spotify playlist - ironically, one of his more famous country hits being titled ‘Save Me’). As a result of Jelly Roll's increased fame, Jellyroll (the band) claim that they now feature much further down the list of Google search results, affecting their visibility and causing confusion.

It will be interesting to see how this one plays out. In the meantime, and whilst it is typically copyright cases that we see hitting the headlines in the music sector, the case does highlight that availability searches are worthwhile considering ahead of commencing use, even for what you may consider to be a more unusual name.