Joey Ramone’s brother Mitchel Hyman is suing Johnny Ramone’s widow Linda Cummings-Ramone for allegedly “exploiting” the Ramones‘ legacy.
The New York punk band’s mental property is owned in equal elements by two heirs – Hyman (higher generally known as Mickey Leigh) and Cummings-Ramone – following the deaths of its 4 members.
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The pair famously don’t get together with one another, and in a brand new lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court docket final Friday (August 23), Leigh’s legal professionals accuse Cummings-Ramone of violating federal trademark regulation by pursuing an “unrelenting quest” to affiliate herself with the Ramones.
Within the swimsuit, Cummings-Ramone is described as a former “groupie” who has an “insatiable private want to shine a highlight on herself” (by way of Billboard).
It reads: “Ms. Cummings-Ramone has made and continues to make blatant makes an attempt to use and personally capitalise on and profit from the identify, goodwill and legacy of the Ramones – that’s, to attempt to push the false narrative that she is the heiress to… the Ramones’ legacy.
“She most actually just isn’t. She is nothing greater than a blatant self-promoter and an infringer.”
The case takes problem with Cummings-Ramone’s use of the identify ‘Linda Ramone’ – regardless of ‘Ramone’ not having been the authorized surname of her late husband, nor every other member of the Ramones.
Joey Ramone (actual identify Jeffrey Ross Hyman) and Johnny Ramone (John William Cummings) weren’t truly brothers. Because the two died in 2001 and 2004, respectively, Leigh and Cummings-Ramone have been embroiled in an ongoing feud.
Within the new lawsuit, Leigh’s legal professionals say: “Ramones are distinctive in some ways. One in all which is that they’re the one band of stature the place all of the members weren’t associated however used the identical final identify as in the event that they have been.
“That made it simple for [the] defendant to insert herself into the Ramones legacy as a part of the household, the general public spokesperson, and to affiliate her private model with Ramones, by utilizing the identify ‘Linda Ramone’.”
They proceed: “Certainly, ‘Linda Ramone’ by no means existed whereas her husband, John Cummings was alive. Defendant more and more adopted the identify ‘Linda Ramone’ after Mr. Cummings died.”
The lawsuit claims that earlier authorized proceedings and agreements had restricted how Cummings-Ramone is allowed to make use of the identify ‘Linda Ramone’, however that she’d repeatedly exceeded these limitations as a result of she is “unabashedly obsessive about portraying herself because the widow of Johnny Ramone” and as an “integral member” of the group.
It provides: “Ms. Cummings-Ramone presents herself to the world as ‘Linda Ramone’ and unilaterally adopts the mantle of designated Ramones spokesperson and ‘keeper of the legacy’.
“She deliberately provides the misunderstanding that she is empowered to take the lead on, or unilaterally pursue, Ramones enterprise.”
Leigh and Cummings-Ramone are the executors of Joey’s and Johnny’s respective estates, and every personal half of Ramones Productions – the corporate that controls the enduring band’s music in addition to different belongings.
Again in January, Cummings-Ramone sued Leigh over an upcoming Netflix biopic about Joey Ramone referred to as I Slept With Joey Ramone, starring Pete Davidson.
Within the swimsuit, Cummings-Ramone claimed that any “authoritative story of the Ramones” would require her permission. She mentioned Leigh had “overtly developed an unapproved and unauthorised Ramones-based biopic” primarily based on his “one-sided recitation of the historical past of the Ramones”.
Joey Ramone’s brother later counter-sued Johnny’s widow, calling her makes an attempt to close down the movie “baseless and flimsy”.
Earlier this month, NYC Ferry introduced Ramones-themed commutes to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the band’s first-ever present. It’s unclear as as to if the most recent lawsuit is related to this.
Cummings-Ramone has not but responded to the brand new case in opposition to her.
