Kid Rock has scored an early court victory in a legal battle over the original name for his new tour.
Kid Rock had previously announced plans to call his trek the Greatest Show on Earth, but in December, he was slapped with a lawsuit by Feld Entertainment officials, who own the famous circuses Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.
They claimed Kid Rock was infringing upon their trademark for the phrase, “The Greatest Show on Earth,” and asked for an injunction to stop Kid Rock from using the slogan.
The musician recently relented and decided to rename his gigs the American Rock ‘n’ Roll Tour 2018, but that didn’t stop the plaintiffs from pursuing the case in court.
However, Kid Rock, real name Robert James Ritchie, has since been granted permission to use the original title, after a U.S. judge ruled Feld bosses had failed to establish how the star’s trek would tarnish the Greatest Show on Earth’s name to justify the injunction.
According to TheBlast.com, the judge also claimed the singer had a right to free expression, particularly as he already has a song called Greatest Show on Earth, from his 2017 album Sweet Southern Sugar.
Despite the order, the legal battle isn’t completely over – Feld representatives are still suing Kid Rock and concert promoters at Live Nation for trademark infringement.
Kid Rock’s latest tour kicked off on Friday with a sold out show in Nashville, Tennessee and continues with a trio of gigs in Durant, Oklahoma from Thursday.
It is unlikely he will revert back to calling his live dates the Greatest Show on Earth Tour, as he previously declared he didn’t want the lawsuit to “distract me or my fans from focusing on what is important in my upcoming tour – my music”.
Listen to the Noise11 Music News channel now at iHeartRadio
