Neil Young vs. Chrome Hearts — What happens when a rock legend collides with a luxury fashion powerhouse? Chrome Hearts has filed suit against Neil Young, claiming his new band “Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts” infringes on their famous trademark

Show Notes: 

Scott:  Neil Young, one of the most influential voices in rock history, has landed in federal court, but not for his music. His new backing band, Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, has become the center of a trademark infringement lawsuit filed by luxury fashion brand, Chrome Hearts. At issue is whether Neil Young’s use of the Chrome Hearts’ name, and especially the sale of related merchandise, crossed the line into infringement. I’m Scott Hervey, a partner of the I’m a law firm of Weintraub Tobin, and today I’m joined by my partner, James Kachmar. We are going to break down Chrome Hearts versus Neil Young on today’s installment of The Briefing.

James, welcome back to The Briefing. Good to have you.

James:  Thanks for having me, Scott. Anytime you’ve got a clash between a rock legend and a fashion powerhouse, you know it’s going to be an interesting case.

Scott:  Oh, absolutely. Well, so let’s set the stage, shall we? So Chrome Hearts filed suit in the Central District of California against Neil Young and his production company, the Other Shoe Productions, and his bandmates. The complaint alleges trademark infringement, false designation of origin, unfair competition, common law trademark infringement, and common law unfair competition. But I think the centerpiece of this case really is the federal trademark infringement claim. I think, really, this case either lives or dies on whether or not Neil Young has violated the Lanham Act. Okay, let’s talk about some background here. Chrome Hearts, for those of you who aren’t aware, Chrome Hearts is not just a boutique clothing line. It’s a billion-dollar brand that’s been around since 1988. They’ve built an empire on jewelry, leather goods, apparel, eyewear, and even furniture. They’ve collaborated with the Rolling Stones, Rihanna, Madonna, Drake, and countless others. Their products are sold in exclusive boutiques worldwide, and they have a loyal following among musicians and celebrities. Now, critically, Chrome Hearts has a very long list of federally-registered trademarks covering Chrome Hearts, both the wordmark and related designs. These registrations span across jewelry, letter goods, clothing, eyewear, retail store services, and even entertainment services in the nature of live performances by a musical band.

Now, that last one is particularly important because I think it directly overlaps with Neil Young’s activities.

James:  I knew about Chrome Hearts as a fashion and jewelry brand, but I had no idea that there was a band associated with it. Did you know that, Scott?

Scott:  No, I didn’t until I read the complaint. I got a little curious, and I found the specific trademark that covered their entertainment services. I mean, it’s listed in the complaint. I looked up its file at the USPTO to see what specimens it submitted. Lo and behold, it’s a photo of a band with the band name Chrome Hearts right there on the stage monitors. I tried to find out more about that band, but when you search Chrome Hearts Band, all you get is references to Neil Young’s new band.

James: Neil Young launched this new band, Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, last year in 2024. They played shows in New York, branded the outing as the Chrome Hearts Tour, and then released new music earlier this year, including a full studio album this past June. The complaint highlights that they were selling T-shirts and other merchandise, prominently using the Chrome Hearts name as part of that tour.

Scott:  If I had to guess, I would say that’s really the spark. Touring under a band name might have been acceptable, especially since it’s Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts. But I think once Young started selling merchandise, shirts, hoodies, and other items bearing Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, that’s probably what caused Chrome Hearts to file its lawsuit. According to the complaint, vendors and fans, allegedly, have assumed there’s a collaboration between Young and the Chrome Hearts. That’s exactly the consumer confusion trademark law is designed to prevent.

James:  Yeah, and this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a conflict between a fashion brand and a musical tour.

Scott:  That’s right. Earlier this year, you and I covered the Lady Gaga mayhem case. In that one, the surf and lifestyle brand, Lost International, claimed that Lady Gaga’s use of mayhem as her tour and album title and on her merch conflicted with their registered trademark for clothing.

James: Exactly. Lost had been using mayhem since the late 1980s and owned a federal trademark registration that also covered apparel. Their argument was that Lady Gaga’s tour merchandise created a likelihood of confusion with their surfwear products.

Scott:  That case really highlighted the importance or risk of overlap. Even though Lady Gaga wasn’t in the surf industry, both sides were selling clothing. The court was going to analyze this overlap, the potential of trademark infringement, through the Sleekcraft factors.

James:  Right. That’s the same framework that the court would apply here. Let’s get into it. In trademark law, the core issue is whether there’s a likelihood of confusion. Courts will apply some version of the Sleekcraft factors in determining whether there is a likelihood of confusion with regard to the infringement complaint.

Scott:  Right. So let’s walk through them and let’s make a determination whether they would support Chrome Hearts or Neil Young. Now, obviously, we’re making these calls extremely early in the case before Young has even answered the complaint and before discovery. But I don’t know. I think we know enough about trademark law. Maybe there’s enough facts just from the complaint where we can see where this is going. All right. So just a quick recap. In California, courts analyzing a trademark infringement claim, they’re going to look at the Sleekcraft factors, which are the following: the strength of the plaintiff’s mark, the similarity of the marks at issue, the similarity or the relatedness of the goods covered by of those marks, the similarity of the marketing channels for those goods, both the plaintiffs and the defendants, the degree of care likely to be exercised by the consumer of those goods, whether it’s a sophisticated consumer or not, evidence of actual confusion, the defendant’s intent in selecting the marks, and likelihood of expansion of the product lines.

James:  Scott, let’s start at the top, the strength of Chrome Heart’s mark.

Scott:  All right. Okay, good call. I think Chrome Heart’s Mark is strong. It’s been around for decades, has incontestable registrations, and is pretty widely recognized in both fashion and music circles. Now, the registration provides them with certain presumptions of ownership and certain presumptions of the right to use the mark nationwide, and that mark is distinctive. I think this factor strongly favors Chrome Heart.

James:  Okay, but I’m not sure the next factor favors Chrome Hearts, and that’s a similarity of the marks. Here, Neil Young is using Chrome Hearts as part of his mark, but as his band name, Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, and his tour name is the Chrome Hearts Tour. So the marks appear to be different in appearance, sound, and meaning. I think this factor may end up favoring Neil Young.

Scott:  I’m having flashbacks of our Lady Gaga conversation. I think I have to agree with you partially. I think the primary focus of Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts is Neil Young. I agree with you there that favors Neil Young. However, the Chrome Hearts Tour is very different. I think that one is more similar than dissimilar to Chrome Hearts, Mark.

James:  Okay, so let’s discuss the relatedness of the goods and services factor. Both parties are offering clothing and live music-related entertainment; it would be hard to see how this factor could not favor Chrome Hearts here.

Scott:  I think I agree, James. However, even though those goods are the same, I think the marketing channels factor show some significant differences in the nature of those goods. So this factor examines ho