‘The Marvelettes” name has joined “The Platters,” “The Kingsmen,” “Vito and the Salutations” and names of other popular musical groups in which ownership rights have been disputed and litigated. Each of those disputes answered a question that often is deferred or ignored by members of newly formed groups: Who owns and controls the name of the group?
Cross-motions for summary judgment in the “Marvelettes” case were decided last month in the Southern District of New York.1 The two defendants were an original group member, Katherine Schaffner, and the estate of another, Gladys Horton; both had recorded for Motown and performed in live concerts with the group beginning in the early 1960s. Following a succession of personnel changes, the group disbanded in 1969. The plaintiff was a producer-manager, Larry Marshak, who had booked the group for performances in the late 1960s when he was an editor at Rock Magazine.
