Vice Settles Trademark Dispute With Indie Band ViceVersa

In April, Vice Media ordered an unsigned band to change its name. The company, which is reportedly worth billions of dollars, sent a cease-and-desist letter to Los Angeles trio ViceVersa arguing the band’s name and logo were too much like Vice’s. (In November, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office had reportedly signed off on ViceVersa guitarist Christopher Morales’ application to trademark the band’s name.) Today, both parties reached a settlement over the trademark dispute. In a statement, ViceVersa’s lawyer wrote: “After a few weeks of negotiations, the two parties have come to an amicable agreement. Changes have been made to the band’s trademark details as registered with the USPTO, thus narrowing the scope of their services. ViceVersa will continue using their name and logo as they please and Vice Media will go about their $2.5 billion business.” Reached for comment, a Vice spokesperson said: “We’re glad this worked out for both parties, and we wish the band the best of luck.”

Watch the band’s new music video:

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly referred to the trademark dispute as a lawsuit.

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