Ronald Isley is a singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Ronald Isley is also known as Mr. Biggs due to his unforgettable character in R.Kelly’s Trapped In The Closet Series. Ronald Isley is the lead singer and founding member of the family music group “The Isley Brothers.” At its peak, the group consisted of 6 active members. One of those members being Rudolph Isley. Rudolph and Ronald Isley co-founded the Isley Brothers with their brother O’Kelly in 1954. Rudolph claims after O’Kelly’s death in 1986, that he and Ronald each hold a 50 percent share of ownership in the group.
On November 2, 2021, in his individual capacity, Ronald Isley completed an USPTO application to register exclusive rights to “The Isley Brothers” trademark. On August 16, 2022, the USPTO registered the trademark. The first time in use date listed on the application is January 01, 1954.
Recently, Rudolph Isley sued Ronald Isley. Rudolph claims that Ronald improperly registered the trademark for “The Isley Brothers” as a sole individual, excluding him from the asset, which he has a right to because of their existing equal partnership. Rudolph claims that he holds a 50 percent share of ownership in the “The Isley Brothers” trademark. Both parties agree Rudolph retired from performing and recording with the band in 1989. However, Rudolph asserts in his suit that he “remained active in promoting and managing the Group’s properties,” citing a 2018 publishing deal and a recent sync of “Shout” in the 2023 Super Bowl commercial this past year.
The suit seeks a declaration that the mark “The Isley Brothers” is jointly owned by each brother, and an asset in which they own equally. Also, Rudolph asserts that because he is “unaware of the degree to which Ronald exploited the Mark, the licenses and/or other transactions that Ronald entered into” he is seeking a judgement to compel Ronald to account for and pay his 50-percent share of the proceeds he’s collected on the trademark.
According to Navarro W. Gray, Ronald’s attorney, Ronald did not “set up a separate entity to receive Isley Brothers related revenue” but to do business solely related to his own career; and that Sound Exchange, the rights management firm charged with distributing the Isley Brothers royalties, has always issued payments in equal share and no corrections to royalty payouts needs to be made.
The fact that Rudolph retired from the group is immaterial because trademark applications relate back to the first time the mark was used. In this case, “The Isley Brothers” mark has a first date of use in 1954. Rudolph may have case, so it will be interesting to watch how this matter plays out.