Is Rolling Stone allowed to sell T-shirts of its famous covers?

By Eriq Gardner

Most musicians would love to be on the cover of Rolling Stone. Back in its heyday, a cover spot was even worth millions of dollars in record and concert sales.

But take a Rolling Stone cover, slap it on to a T-shirt and sell it to fans — that equals trouble.

The Wenner Media publication is now being sued by concert promotion giant Live Nation, F.E.A. Merchandising and Bravado International Group Merchandising Services for hawking products that feature the names and likenesses of popular musical artists like Nirvana, Beyonce and Run-DMC.

According to a complaint filed in California district court, the plaintiffs claim Wenner violated the trademarks and rights of publicity for numerous "Live Nation Artists" in connection with merchandising sold at Macy's and Wal-Mart.

"Defendants have done so without any input, approval, or quality control from the Artists,"  says the lawsuit, filed by Howard King and Seth Miller at LA's King Holmes Paterno & Berliner.

Seems it's impossible to get a break on the IP front these days. Just yesterday, Rolling Stone broke news that Guns n' Roses was being sued for violating the IP of a German electro artist by incorporating some of the artist's ambient noise on its last album. Now Live Nation, which represents the interests of artists thanks to exclusive licensing deals, is suing a media company for using its own cover images on tote bags.

A court will decide whether Wenner's use of these covers dilutes the IP value of those artists, creates the impression that they are endorsing the merchandise, or unfairly competes with the plaintiffs in the merch market. But we're wondering whether the litigation will impact which artists Rolling Stone chooses to grace its covers.