A U.S. federal court judge has ruled that Ultra Music Publishing must change its name within six months after a jury found that the company breached the “Ultra” trademark owned by the Sony Music-owned Ultra Records.
Ultra Music Publishing is owned by Patrick Moxey, who also founded Ultra Records in 1995 and sold his remaining 50% share of the label to Sony Music in 2021. Sony brought the lawsuit against Ultra Music Publishing the following year, attesting that Moxey (who founded the publishing company in 2004) had signed away his rights to the trademark after selling his stake in the Ultra label.
At the December trial, lawyers for Sony/Ultra Records argued that the label had impliedly licensed the Ultra trademark to the publishing company but that, after terminating that license in March 2022, the publishing company had continued to use the trademark in bad faith. The jury in the case agreed, also finding that the Ultra mark was distinctive, that Ultra Music Publishing was in breach of the license and that its use of the Ultra name was “likely to dilute [Ultra] Records’ Ultra trademark.”
However, the jury also found that Ultra Music Publishing’s use of the trademark wasn’t “likely to cause confusion among [Ultra Music] Publishing’s customers, and that [Ultra] Records suffered no
damage from Publishing’s breach of the license.” As a result, the jury awarded no damages or legal costs to Sony/Ultra Records.
“Independent music companies are always facing challenges from major corporations, who are threatened more than ever by their increasing success,” said Moxey in a statement sent to Billboard following Tuesday’s ruling. “With 13 songwriters nominated across seven categories at this year’s Grammys, and their participation in winning Album of the Year, R&B Album of the Year, and Rap Album of the Year, we are proud of the many successes of the songwriters we represent. Our roster of talented writers and producers, alongside our executive team will keep doing what they do best — delivering the exceptional work that has made us who we are. Nothing changes except the name.”
Sony Music declined to comment on the ruling.
Though the trademark case is now resolved, the legal battle between Sony Music and the publisher isn’t over. Last November, Moxey’s Ultra International Music Publishing and Ultra Music Publishing Europe sued Sony Music Entertainment and its subsidiaries — including Ultra Records — over allegations of copyright infringement, claiming Sony and its affiliates had been using Ultra Publishing’s compositions without a license. Last week, Sony Music Entertainment asked a judge to throw out that lawsuit, calling the complaint an act of “retaliation” against the major label for filing its trademark suit against the publishing outfit two years prior. That case is ongoing.
