Blues singer Lady A, whose real name is Anita White, has countersued the country band with the same name, which was formerly known as Lady Antebellum. White filed her suit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court’s Western District of Washington against Lady A Entertainment LLC and the band’s members.
According to the lawsuit, “Ms. White has accrued common law rights in the LADY A trademark in connection with music and entertainment services as a result of her long, continuous, and prominent use of the LADY A mark since at least the early 1990s.” The suit further claims her trademark rights “predate any rights that Lady Antebellum allegedly possesses.”
Band members Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley, and David Haywood claim they’ve been using the Lady A name since 2006-2007. The band initially sued White in July after she and her team “demanded a $10 million payment,” according to a statement obtained by CBS News.
The trio changed their band name to Lady A to remove any connotation to slavery following the fatal police shooting of George Floyd. White’s lawsuit notes the timing of the name change and claims “[Lady Antebellum] never performed as LADY A prior to June 11, 2020” when the name change was made official.
The band claims, however, that “Lady A” became an official trademark for the band in 2011 after no one filed in opposition to the name. CBS News has reached out to publicists for both White and the country group.
In a recent Facebook post, White wrote #thetruthisloud and shared a Rolling Stone article about the countersuit.
White is seeking “compensatory damages” and “a reasonable royalty fee for any sales of music or musical performances” and legal fees among other requests, according to her lawsuit.