ABBA have sued the UK tribute act ABBA MANIA for trademark infringement.
In a suit filed on Friday (December 3), the Swedish icons described the cover band’s behaviour as “parasitic and bad-faith”. They claimed the tribute band are intentionally misleading fans into believing that they are endorsed by the real group.
“Defendants include the term ‘official’ and ‘original’ in many of their marketing materials, website pages, and social media handles,” the suit reads (via Billboard), “which gives consumers the impression that there is some kind of association, affiliation, or sponsorship between ABBA and ABBA MANIA”.
It’s said in the lawsuit that ABBA gave ABBA MANIA the opportunity to change their name but they turned down the offer.
“In an attempt to amicably resolve this dispute, [ABBA] explained how defendants could properly use the phrase ‘ABBA Tribute’ in a non-confusing manner to describe their tribute act so long as the actual name of the tribute act did not include the word ABBA,” the suit adds.
“But Defendants refused to comply and cease use of the name ABBA MANIA.”
ABBA MANIA – billed as “the original tribute from London’s West End” – describe their live show as a “highly polished and professional production”. They have upcoming dates scheduled for Neath in Wales as well as Manchester and Lytham.
ABBA returned with their first album in 40 years, ‘Voyage’, last month. It went to Number One in the UK and became the fastest-selling vinyl of the century. The record features the recent Christmas single ‘Little Things’.
The legendary quartet will showcase ‘Voyage’ at a string of “revolutionary” concerts at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in 2022. Earlier this year, the event’s producers spoke to NME about what to expect from the “magical space circus”.
The spectacle was put together by former Klaxons member James Righton and features Little Boots (a self-confessed ABBA “mega-fan”) in its cast of live musicians. A dazzling official trailer arrived last month.