SHEPPARD MULLIN RICHTER & HAMPTON
LLP
JILL M. PIETRINI (Cal. Bar No. 138335)BENJAMIN O. AIGBOBOH (Cal. Bar No. 268531)1901 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1600Los Angeles, California 90067-6055Telephone: 310.228.3700Facsimile: 310.228.3701Email: jpietrini@sheppardmullin.com baigboboh@sheppardmullin.com
Attorneys for Plaintiff
GUNS N’ ROSESUNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTCENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIAWESTERN DIVISIONGUNS N’ ROSES, a California partnership,Plaintiff,v.CANARCHY CRAFT BREWERYCOLLECTIVE LLC, dba OSKARBLUES BREWERY, a ColoradoLimited Liability CompanyDefendant.Case No. 2:19-cv-4052
COMPLAINT FOR:(1) TRADEMARKINFRINGEMENT INVIOLATION OF 15 U.S.C. §1114;(2) FALSE DESIGNATION OFORIGIN IN VIOLATION OF15 U.S.C. § 1125(a);(3) TRADEMARK DILUTION INVIOLATION OF 15 U.S.C.§ 1125(c);(4) COMMON LAWTRADEMARKINFRINGEMENT;(5) UNFAIR COMPETITION INVIOLATION OF CAL. BUS. &PROF. CODE §§ 17200,
ET SEQ.
;(6) COMMON LAW UNFAIRCOMPETITION; AND(7) MISAPPROPRIATION OFRIGHT OF PUBLICITY INVIOLATION OF CAL. CIV.CODE § 3344 AND COMMONLAW.DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
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Plaintiff Guns N’ Roses (“GNR”) for their Complaint against DefendantCANarchy Brewery Collective LLC, doing business as Oskar Blues Brewery(“Defendant”), and Does 1-10, alleges as follows:
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
1. This action arises under the trademark laws of the United States, 15U.S.C. § 1051,
et seq.
, and California statutory and common law. The Court hasoriginal subject matter jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1121 and28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338. The Court has supplemental jurisdiction pursuant to 28U.S.C. § 1367(a) over claims arising under California law because all of the claimsherein arise out of a common nucleus of facts.2. Venue is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) because, upon informationand belief, a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claimsoccurred in this District and Defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction in thisDistrict.
THE PARTIES
3. GNR is a musical group and partnership organized and existing underthe laws of the state of California with their principle place of business in Los Angeles,California. GNR’s general partners are W. Axl Rose (“Axl Rose”), Saul Hudson, pkaSlash, and Michael McKagan.4. Upon information and belief, Defendant is a Colorado limited liabilitycompany with its principle place of business Longmont, Colorado and that isregistered to do business in California.5. The true names, identities and capacities, whether individual, associate,corporate or otherwise, of Defendants DOES 1 to 10, inclusive, and each of them (the“DOE Defendants”), are unknown to GNR at this time, who therefore sues the DOEDefendants by such fictitious names. When the true names and capacities or participation of the DOE Defendants are ascertained, GNR will amend this complaintto assert the true names, identities and capacities. GNR is informed and believes and
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thereon alleges that each of the DOE Defendants sued herein is responsible for thewrongful acts alleged herein, and is therefore liable to GNR in some manner for theevents and happenings alleged in this Complaint. GNR is informed and believes andthereon alleges that at all times herein mentioned, the DOE Defendants were and aredoing business and/or residing in this District.
FACTUAL BACKGROUNDA. GNR’s Three Decades of Worldwide Success Under the Famous GUNS N’ROSES Trademark
6. In 1984, GNR’s co-founders Tracii Guns and Axl Rose combined theirrespective bands “LA Guns” and “Hollywood Rose” to form the band “Guns N’Roses.” Since the formation, GNR has achieved national and international renown asone of the greatest, and most commercial and critically successful, bands of all time.7. GNR’s debut studio album,
Appetite for Destruction
, was released in1987. On the strength of their famous and iconic songs -- including “Welcome to theJungle,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” and “Paradise City” --
Appetite for Destruction
reached number one on the
Billboard
200,
Billboard
magazine’s chart ranking the200 most popular albums in the United States, in 1988.8. Since its release,
Appetite for Destruction
has sold at least 30 millioncopies worldwide. This includes at least 18 million copies sold in the United States,which makes
Appetite for Destruction
the best-selling debut album, and one of the best-selling albums period, of all time in the United States. Among other criticalaccolades,
Appetite for Destruction
was ranked number 62 on
Rolling Stone
’s list ofthe 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and number 42 on VH1’s list of the best 100albums in rock and roll history, and has been repeatedly hailed by music critics andfans as one of greatest rock and roll albums of all time.9. GNR’s subsequent studio albums --
G N’ R Lies
(1988),
Use Your Illusion I
(1991),
Use Your Illusion II
(1991),
“The Spaghetti Incident”
(1993),
and
Chinese Democracy
(2008) -- have sold, at least, 20 million copies collectively in the
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United States alone since their release. As with
Appetite for Destruction
, each ofGNR’s subsequent studio albums has been the subject of critical praise in publicationssuch as
Entertainment Weekly
,
Rolling Stone
,
Los Angeles Times
,
Chicago Tribune,Spin
, and
NME
.10. In addition to and in connection with its recorded musical output, GNRhas created some of the most iconic and popular music videos of all-time. As of May7, 2019, the official music videos for GNR songs “Welcome to the Jungle,” “ParadiseCity,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” and “November Rain” have been collectively viewednearly 3
billion
times on YouTube, alone. The excellence of GNR’s music videos has been widely acknowledged, including by seminal music television channel MTVwhen it awarded GNR a Video Vanguard Award to recognize their accomplishmentsin music and film.11. GNR, and their recorded music and music videos, have been nominatedfor and won numerous awards including American Music Awards (eight nominationsand four wins), Billboard Music Awards (six nominations and one win), GrammyAwards (four nominations), and MTV Video Music Awards (nine nominations andfour wins).12. GNR’s live performances, in the United States and abroad, have also been massively successful. In addition to performing and touring with some of thegreatest acts in popular music’s history -- including Metallica and Aerosmith -- GNRhas headlined national and international tours that have been attended by millions of people and earned hundreds of millions of dollars. By way of example, GNR’s
Notin This Lifetime… Tour
-- which ran from April 2016 to December 2018, includedmore than 150 shows in the United States and worldwide, and featured a headlining performance at the world-famous Coachella Festival -- grossed more than $563million, making it one of the highest-grossing tours of all time. Among otheraccolades, GNR’s
Not in This Lifetime… Tour
won “Top Tour/Top Draw” at the 2017Billboard
Touring Awards, nominated for “Top Rock Tour” at the 2017 Billboard
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Music Awards, and was awarded the inaugural Ticketmaster Touring MilestoneAward in 2019.13. Due to their more than three decades of musical excellence and success,GNR was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 -- their first year ofeligibility for induction -- taking their place alongside music legends such as JamesBrown, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, TheRolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, Johnny Cash, The Jimi HendrixExperience, Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Ramones, and Prince.14. Given their fame and renown, GNR and their music have been thesubject of considerable press and public comment over the course of their three-plusdecade existence, including countless articles in world-famous magazines like
RollingStone
, and hundreds of books, television shows, and films. GNR and their music havealso been prominently featured in television shows, films (including the blockbuster
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
), and video games such as
Guitar Hero
.15. GNR, themselves or through their licensees, has also successfullyoffered to sell and sold a variety of “Guns N’ Roses” -- branded products toconsumers. This includes, but is not limited, clothing and related accessories such ast-shirts, hats, patches, stickers, buttons, and bandannas -- an item uniquely associatedwith GNR and their co-founder and lead singer Axl Rose, who has famously worn bandannas for decades. This also includes items used for and related to the imbibingof alcohol including wine glasses, pint glasses, beer “koozies” (sleeves used to keep beer cans cold), and shot glasses.16. GNR is the owner of the following incontestable federal trademarkregistrations of the mark GUNS N’ ROSES, true and correct copies of which areattached hereto as
Exhibit A
:
Reg. No.
Class and Goods/Services Reg. Date
1,762,599
Class 9: Prerecorded video and audio tapes, prerecorded phonograph records andApril 6, 1997
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