David and Goliath, Record Industry Battle Over Artist “Elan” Name

Entertainment company Abbywho, Inc. and its flagship artist Elan, filed suit today against Interscope Records, Studio K, public relations firm The Mitch Schneider Organization and singer Elan Atias. The lawsuit stems from the infringement of Abbywho Inc's trademark name "Elan" which as well as being her birth-name, the artist has used the name all of her professional career. A lawsuit in the Federal District Court in San Diego, CA has been filed under Claim Number 06CV1686WQH AJB.

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) August 22, 2006 -- Entertainment company Abbywho, Inc. and its flagship artist Elan, filed suit today against Interscope Records, Studio K, public relations firm The Mitch Schneider Organization and singer Elan Atias. The lawsuit stems from the infringement of Abbywho Inc's trademark name "Elan" which as well as being her birth-name, the artist has used the name all of her professional career. The venue for this lawsuit is in the Federal District Court in San Diego, CA.

The shocking eleven-count complaint outlines the unusual timing of actions on the part of Interscope and the other defendants, alleging that they tried to usurp the Elan name through crafty, yet overt maneuvering. The Mitch Schneider Organization, former representative of Abbywho's Elan, once had a link on their website that linked directly to Elan’s website; that same link now sends users to Mr. Atias' website - and provides no information about the switch.

As late as the Fall of 1999 in an article on the front page of the Los Angeles Times Calendar section written by best-selling author Alisa Valdes Rodriguez it stated that most labels have a policy of not speaking publicly about an artist with whom they are in negotiations with, but Interscope executives openly stated their interest in signing Elan as one of their artists. They said Elan was their "second highest priority after Enrique Iglesias' new album." They were even planning to schedule a showcase performance for Elan at Interscope in early December so the company’s other executives could hear her sing live. Interscope, in conjunction with Studio K run by “No Doubt's” Tony Kanal, now promotes Mr.Atias. All the while, the labels, the PR firm and the artist continue to use the only name by which Abbywho's artist Elan has ever been known in her professional music career.

“This is the kind of thing that made my brother and I start our own company. They don’t care about music or who they hurt. All I wanted was to make my music. I am shocked that now, my former PR firm and a label that actually wanted to sign me, would try this. They thought they could just run us over and get away with it and we wouldn’t say anything. They were wrong!”

Elan burst onto the music scene a number of years ago and has successful albums to her credit, enjoying worldwide popularity particularly in the Latin American community. Not only is she is a powerful songwriter with something to say and the unique ability to remain true to herself, she has even been featured on the MTV Latin America Music Awards in 2004; additionally, she was awarded the Rolling Stone En Espanol People's Choice Award. Elan has even had five top ten videos on MTV Latin America, Telehit, MTV Australia and Channel V.

Elan has been recognized for being the first successful independent Latin American artist, as well as the first Latin American to start her career with an English language album. Her first single “Midnight” from her album “Street Child” which features Grammy Award winning personalities like Slash (Velvet Revolver, Guns N’ Roses), Beck producer Brian Paulson and engineer Jeff “The Pirate” Poe (Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Madonna, Santana), brought down 3 national servers in Mexico with email requests for the song and jammed phone lines in radio stations for days. Her newest single "This Fool's Life" from her latest album London Express is #1 on the Top 10 list in Latin America and is now breaking records on national airplay charts.

Mr. Atias - who is currently using the name "Elan" -- is alleged in the Complaint to be a cover artist touring with the reggae band The Wailers, performing other artists' work. Until the release of his debut album in the summer of 2006, Mr. Atias has either gone by his full name “Elan Atias” or was known as "Young Lion".

On the heels of their relationship with Elan, her former public relations firm The Mitch Schneider Organization, Interscope Records, Studio K and Mr. Atias’ record label, took the name Elan and allowed Mr.Atias to make use of the single name for the release of his debut album. "If you take a look at the timing, you have to be very disappointed in how these music industry players behaved," said Matt Rifat of Manning & Marder, Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez LLP. Rifat is prosecuting the case on behalf of Abbywho and Elan. The firm has made a name for itself in entertainment circles by representing screenwriters whose work has allegedly been stolen by major studios.

"The sequence of events is unbelievable. Interscope and The Mitch Schneider Organization deal with Elan one day and the next they are slapping her name onto Atias. Abbywho files a trademark registration for the name 'Elan' and a few weeks later Interscope files its registration for it too. It is as unseemly as it is illegal," says Rifat. In future weeks, this David and Goliath battle will heat up, as Interscope, The Mitch Schneider Organization, Studio K and Mr. Atias make an attempt to cover up their chain of misdeeds.

A lawsuit in the Federal District Court in San Diego, CA has been filed under Claim Number 06CV1686WQH AJB.

Press Information:
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