Nearly a year since launching his new band, The Chrome Hearts, folk rock icon Neil Young is being sued by luxury fashion brand Chrome Hearts for trademark infringement.
Young introduced his new band comprised of keyboardist Spooner Oldham (Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section), guitarist Micah Nelson (Particle Kid), and Promise of the Real‘s Corey McCormick on bass and Anthony LoGerfo on drums at Farm Aid back in September 2024. The group released its studio debut, Talkin to the Trees, earlier this year and is currently in the midst of its first extended outing, the Love Earth Tour.
The band’s name was apparently inspired by a lyric from Young’s 1976 collaboration with Stephen Stills, “Long May You Run” (“With your chrome heart shining in the sun”), but for those familiar with the fashion world, it was immediately recognizable as one of the most popular and highly coveted luxury brands, specializing in finely crafted sterling silver biker jewelry and expensive streetwear.
The association with luxury consumerism may seem at odds with Young’s progressive political views, which he has always been outspoken about. However, it is not the first time he has invited such a juxtaposition. In 2015, he was the face of Supreme‘s Spring/Summer campaign, posing in one of the brand’s coveted “box logo” tees for a photo featured on a t-shirt that now sells for several hundred dollars on the resale market. Supreme promoted the collaboration by releasing a video interview with Young, which included live concert footage.
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Now Young is being sued by Chrome Hearts, who sent a cease-and-desist letter to his representatives in July.
“Defendants’ continued use of the confusingly similar name in commerce violates Chrome Hearts’ valuable intellectual property rights,” the lawsuit reads, according to Billboard, which first reported the lawsuit.
Under U.S. trademark law, a brand cannot claim exclusive rights to individual words, but a name can be protected if it is likely to cause consumer confusion—a claim that Chrome Hearts asserts in this case.
“Defendants have intentionally and knowingly capitalized off of confusion between the Chrome Hearts (trademarks) and the NYTCH name,” the complaint alleges. “Some clothing and apparel vendors have apparently already mistakenly assumed that there is a connection between NYTCH and Chrome Hearts, and are actively promoting (it).”
Young has continued to use the name and has yet to comment on the lawsuit. He is scheduled to return to the stage with The Chrome Hearts at the Hollywood Bowl on Monday, September 15th ahead of Farm Aid 40, which is reportedly at risk of cancellation due to an ongoing union strike at the University of Minnesota. Find tickets to his upcoming tour dates here.