A legal dispute between reggae legend Bob Marley’s estate and a chicken finger chain called Raising Cane has been settled and resolved. According to the now-settled lawsuit, the chicken finger purveyor was been using Marley’s famous words, “One Love,” as a slogan to sell chicken. This case is an example of how the memories of a deceased person can live on, and sometimes so do our estates, for decades after our deaths.
The owner of the chicken restaurant has made use of Marley’s One Love line since 2001, on branding materials and souvenirs. Conversely, the Marley estate has been using the same slogan since 1999, selling licensing rights to companies for income generation purposes. The estate of the vegetarian reggae superstar was the first to file suit, but the chicken chain owner launched a counter-suit requesting judicial permission to make use of the slogan.
Fortunately, the parties were able to resolve their disagreements after a daughter of Bob Marley met with the owner of the chicken restaurant. They reached an undisclosed settlement that was mutually agreeable to all parties concerned. Although the dispute with chicken purveyor Raising Cane has been resolved, though, another dispute between the Marley estate and a record company over royalty rights to “No Woman, No Cry” rages on.
Sometimes estates in New York or elsewhere will need to employ legal means to assert their property rights in situations where an individual or business entity is encroaching upon those rights. In this case, the Bob Marley estate did just that. Proper estate planning can help during these disputes, especially when an estate plan has been created with an eye for the future. Finally, the fact that the instant matter between the Bob Marley estate and the chicken chain restaurant reached an out of court settlement is a tribute to both sides and their willingness to work together in order to avoid the risks and costs associated with court litigation.
Source: Inquisitr, “Bob Marley Estate Settles With Chicken Finger Chain” No author given, May. 24, 2014
