This case involves a lawsuit by a company owned by the band, The Beach Boys, against one of their members, Al Jardine. The members of the Beach Boys incorporated two separate businesses. One corporation, known as Brother Tours Inc., conducts touring and receives distributions from tours. The second business, and the plaintiff in this case, Brother Records Inc. (BRI), holds and administers the intellectual property rights for The Beach Boys, including the use of the name, The Beach Boys, which is a registered trademark. Prior to the filing of this lawsuit, BRI gave a non-exclusive right to use the Beach Boys name to Mike Love, one of the original Beach Boys. Al Jardine, another one of the original Beach Boys, also attempted to secure a license to use the name, but never reached a final agreement with BRI. Instead, he toured using the name "Beach Boys Family and Friends." BRI sued Jardine for trademark infringement. Jardine counterclaimed that BRI breached a lifetime employment agreement as well as a license agreement. Summary judgment was entered for BRI on all claims. Jardine appealed. The court affirmed the summary judgment because the term Beach Boys as used here was a legitimate trademark (it was not used in its descriptive sense) and the use of the term suggested some connection with the original Beach Boys group. As to the employment agreement, the court found that if Jardine performed under any employment agreement, the agreement was with Brother Tours, Inc., which was not a party to this action. The summary judgment on this claim was therefore proper.
1. What is the nominative fair use doctrine?
2. Why did Jardine not prevail on his claim that an employment agreement was breached?
3. Why did Jardine not prevail on his claim that a license agreement was breached?