Band Sues 'Rock Star' Over Supernova Name

Zap2It.com | August 14, 2006

Gilby Clarke, Tommy Lee and Jason Newsted of 'Rock Star: Supernova'

O.C. group says it had moniker first

LOS ANGELES -- A Southern California band is telling the producers of "Rock Star: Supernova" that it wants its name back.

Members of that Supernova, which formed in Orange County, Calif., in the late 1980s and has performed on the Warped Tour, are asking a federal judge for an injunction against the Tommy Lee-led band at the center of CBS' "Rock Star." Lee, guitarist Gilby Clarke and bassist Jason Newsted are also calling themselves Supernova and are using the show to find a lead singer.

The injunction request was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in San Diego, the showbiz trade papers report. It seeks to bar the "Rock Star" band from recording or performing live under the name Supernova.

The original Supernova, whose song "Chewbacca" is on the "Clerks" soundtrack, filed suit against Lee and his bandmates, along with CBS and "Rock Star" producer Mark Burnett Productions, in June. The two sides have been in settlement negotiations recently, but the injunction request states the talks haven't produced any results.

The plaintiffs are now asking for a hearing on the matter within the next four weeks -- before "Rock Star" crowns its winner in mid-September.

Lawyer John Mizhir, who represents the plaintiffs, tells Variety that CBS and Burnett's company "left us with no options but to seek the preliminary injunction" following the breakdown of settlement talks. Meanwhile, Gary Hecker, an attorney for Mark Burnett Productions, asserts that the company "has the full legal right to use the name Supernova."