Ex-band members sue over Bachman-Turner name

Younger brother and former drummer Robbie Bachman and former lead guitarist Blair Thornton claim they own the rights to the bands name.

Randy Bachman and Fred Turner of the legendary 1970s rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive are being sued by former bandmates for using their trademarked names to promote gigs, court documents showed Thursday.

Younger brother and former drummer Robbie Bachman and former lead guitarist Blair Thornton claim they own the rights to the band's name.

In a suit filed in the British Columbia Supreme Court in westernmost Canada, they accuse Bachman and Turner of conspiring to reunite under similar band names.

The Bachman-Turner Overdrive band rose to fame for such 1970s hits as Takin' Care of Business" and "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet."

The former bandmates claim Randy Bachman agreed after leaving the band in 1977 to pursue a solo career not to use the BTO name and are seeking monetary damages, and want a permanent injunction to prevent Bachman and Turner from using the BTO name in future live performances or recordings without consent.

Since 1984, a series of written and oral agreements with Bachman and Turner bolstered the plaintiffs' claim to the BTO name, they said in court documents.

But earlier this year the band's former frontmen Bachman and Turner registered similar-sounding "Bachman-Turner," "BTU," "BTunited," "Bachman Turner United," and "Bachman Turner Union" with the US Patent and Trademark Office and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.

The plaintiffs allege Bachman and Turner "intended to deceive and/or confuse" the public into believing that their new band is the same as BTO.

- Much as 'Coca Cola' is synonymous in the world with 'Coke,' so too is 'Bachman-Turner Overdrive' with 'BTO,'- the statement of claim says.

A statement of defense has not yet been filed.

Bachman, 66, scored his first number one hit in 1965 with Winnipeg band, The Guess Who.

He formed Brave Belt in 1970, which later changed its name to Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

In 1999, Bachman reunited with The Guess Who's lead singer Burton Cummings for a series of sold out shows.

More recently, Bachman and Turner signed on for several upcoming concerts in Canada and Europe.