Two of the Isley Brothers are currently battling out in court. One of the founding members of the band, Rudolph Isley, has filed a lawsuit against his younger brother, Ron Isley. He accuses him of filing the trademark for the family band’s name and taking all of the profits for himself.
According to the lawsuit, Rudolph and Ronald have the arrangement to split the profits from the band 50/50. The suit goes on to say that they’ve each had 50% ownership since their brother O’Kelly died in 1986.
Rudolph says that the rights to the trademark name were filed in 2021, giving Ronald exclusive rights to “The Isley Brothers” for use on “visual recordings and audiovisual recordings featuring music and animation.”
Since the trademark was filed, the two have still been splitting the profits for big transactions, including a multi-million dollar publishing deal. Rudolph requests that the judge order an accounting of how much Ronald has made since the trademark switch.
Additionally, Rudolph requests the court to declare him as joint owner of “The Isley Brothers” name. He also wants half of any money Ronald has made off the trademark.
The Isley Brothers’ Background
The Isley Brothers have had over six decades in the music industry, starting in the 1950s. The trio has over 18 million recordings sold in the US. Their first hit single, Shout, was charted in 1959 and their last charting single was Contagious which was released in 2001. They’ve hit the Billboard 100 in six different decades, a feat only a few have reached.
The group also has been decorated for their work. They have a Lifetime Grammy Award and were also admitted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Back in August, Beyoncé hopped on the remix of Make Me Say It Again Girl, which was just the start of the band’s rollout of new music. They dropped their newest album of the same name in September.