Jelly Roll sued by Pennsylvania band Jellyroll over alleged trademark infringement
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It's the battle of the Jelly Rolls.
Country singer and rapper Jelly Roll is being sued by Pennsylvania band Jellyroll for alleged trademark infringement.
In court documents filed April 8, per PEOPLE, lawyers for Jellyroll band member Kurt L. Titchenell are asking up-and-coming singer Jelly Roll (born Jason Bradley DeFord) to stop using his stage name, claiming that they started using the name in 1980, four years before Jelly Roll was born. The band obtained a trademark in 2010, which got renewed in 2019 through 2029.
According to the complaint, the band Jellyroll has been performing at "celebratory and charitable events" in the northeastern United States "since at least 1980," including "among other notable events, two appearances at the White House for President George W. Bush and his family."
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"Prior to the Defendant’s recent rise in notoriety, a search of the name of Jellyroll on most search engines, and particularly Google, returned references to the Plaintiff,” the complaint reads. “Now, any such search on Google returns multiple references to Defendant, perhaps as many as 18-20 references before any reference to Plaintiff’s entertainment dance band known as Jellyroll can be found."
A rep for Jelly Roll did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.
The singer has said in interviews in the past that he got his moniker from his mother, who would call him that as a young child. He's used the name professionally since at least 2003, when he released his mixtape The Plain Shmear Tape. He rose to prominence in 2021 with "Son of a Sinner," and again with 2023 single "Need a Favor." Jelly Roll was also nominated for Best New Artist at this year's Grammy Awards.
Per the complaint, the band Jellyroll first sent a cease and desist letter in February, but the conversations between the plaintiff and defendant didn't come to a resolution. Through the lawsuit, the band Jellyroll is seeking a court order putting a stop to "using the name, term, or registered service mark Jellyroll® or any similar derivation of such of such service mark, including but not limited to Jelly Roll."
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