Steve Perry suing two Journey members / Neal Schon responds - Don't Stop Believing ... in the Journey DRAMA :P

[whiplash1972]

From Loudwire Steve Perry Suing Two Journey Members Over Song Trademarks (loudwire.com)

 

Former Journey frontman Steve Perry has taken issue with one of the band's current business practices and has filed a petition to cancel the trademark registrations filed by two of the band's other members back in 2020.

According to Ultimate Classic Rock, Perry filed the petition against longtime Journey members Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain, claiming that the pair had filed to register 20 Journey tracks through Freedom JN LLC for usage in marketing hats, T-shirts, athletic jackets and other paraphernalia, a move he did not agree to. The singer claims that the 2020 filing violated an earlier agreement that stipulated that agreements must be made with "prior, written unanimous consent of all partners in each instance."

The petition lists the following tracks where the trademark registration will now be re-evaluated: "Good Morning Girl," "Only the Young," "Trial By Fire," "Any Way You Want It," "Stay Awhile," "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'," "Wheel in the Sky," "Raised on Radio," "When You Love a Woman," "Open Arms," "Still They Ride," "Who's Crying Now," "Hopelessly in Love," "Send Her My Love," "After the Fall," "Girl Can't Help It," "Ask the Lonely," "I'll Be Alright Without You," "Stone in Love" and "Separate Ways." Perry's petition was filed in Woodland Hills, California on Sept. 11, 2022.

Journey went on hiatus after the band's 1987 Raised on Radio tour, but the singer returned in 1995 for their reunion tour and the 1996 album Trail By Fire. In 1998, Perry would once again bow out as the band's lead singer, but the band continued with Steve Augeri fronting the group until 2006, Jeff Scott Soto taking over vocals between 2006-2007 and Arnel Pineda joining the band in 2007. Perry was with the band at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2017.

Tensions arose again within the band in 2021 when longtime bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith were booted from the group when they attempted to gain control of the band's business decisions. Schon and Cain were able to use their 1998 written agreement with Perry to maintain their rights to the group's name and trademark and a financial settlement was met with Valory and Smith as the group continued on without them.

In July of this year, Schon stated in an interview that he was starting to rekindle his friendship with Perry, though noting that they were not trying to get together musically again. Schon also noted that much of their discussions centered around Journey's trademark. In a separate July interview, Schon stated that he would not rule out a Steve Perry return as the discussion turned to celebrating the band's 50th anniversary.

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Neal Schon Responds to Steve Perry’s Journey Lawsuit (loudwire.com)

Journey guitarist Neal Schon has responded to former vocalist Steve Perry's recent lawsuit against him and keyboardist Jonathan Cain, calling the claim a "bunch of total crap."

Perry's suit claims that Schon and Cain registered 20 of Journey's most successful hits through their company Freedom JN LLC in 2020 for usage on a variety of merchandise items, which is something he didn't agree to and therefore violates an agreement that they'd made in the past, which required consent from all members of the band, including himself.

Schon has since shared a link to the lawsuit on his social media, and provided a written statement in the comments.

"What a bunch of total crap. Here's how it goes friends. Jon Cain calls a board of directors meeting out of nowhere then before I found out about the meeting Jonathan came to me and said he didn't like what they were planning," Schon wrote, citing bassist Ross Valory, Perry and former manager Herbie Herbert as being involved.

"On that meeting Steve, Ross, Smith and Herbie voted myself and Cain off the board of directors and Steve and all voted Ross in my place and Smith in Jon's. They all knew at this time I'd been investigating our trademarks for years trying to get to the bottom of all corruption as we found (my wife and I) that nothing had ever been trademarked besides our music. They all went for a takeover and it didn't work. Quite simple," the guitarist continued.

"So my wife Micheale Schon found a legitimate trademark attorney that wasn't in the corrupt musical circles and we were then successful in attaining it to protect everything we built. We had been getting ripped off since the beginning until I shut it down."

Schon questioned why none of the other members' attorneys ever helped the band in terms of trademarking their material, and called it a "giant corrupted ring" of individuals who ended up benefiting financially from their merchandise. As a result, he and Cain wanted to register all of their album and song titles.

"The more we got educated on how songwriting and copyrights have nothing to do with trademarks... You haven't heard the last of this friends. We are going to peel back the onion."

See the full statement below.

This news comes just a few months after Perry and Schon had supposedly been working on reconciling. In an interview with Vulture in July, the guitarist said that the pair had been "talking and getting to know each other again," though he clarified that the rekindling wasn't indicative of a musical reunion, and was, in fact, related to the trademark issue.

A few weeks later, he discussed Journey's 2023 plans, which involved celebrating the band's 50th anniversary, and he didn't rule out the possibility of Perry and former keyboardist Gregg Rolie participating.

[Glen]

sad what's happened to this band 

[heavyharmonies]

So... 30+ years after their peak, with millions of dollars on the line for decades, they're just NOW starting to investigate the intricacies involved in royalty/trademark/copyright legalities? Morons. All of them.

[auslander]

Divorces can be messy.

[AlphaMale]

"Schon stated in an interview that he was starting to rekindle his friendship with Perry"

[Eric3]

LOL, how embarrassing.

[CMGiordano]

Sadly, I'm not surprised by any of this.

[KarpetRydOFunk]

18 hours ago, CMGiordano said:

Sadly, I'm not surprised by any of this.

You're not surprised that Neal Schon was trying to rekindle his relationship with Steve Perry? I find that shocking!

[auslander]

Was driving my car to pick up my daughter yesterday evening and "Girl Can't Help It" came on my car stereo. Amazing tune. AOR perfection. Sad a band who could record such stuff hate each other these days.

[Doggy]

Perry Vs Journey