On August 28, 2013, the founder of the classic rock band BOSTON and the owner of all of its trademarks lost a bid to prevent the band’s former lead singer from using the name BOSTON in connection with his ongoing musical career. This dispute over the BOSTON name is only one of several lawsuits over band names that were active in 2013, and is merely the latest in a long, rich history of such disputes.

“Well I’m Takin’ My Time, I’m Just Movin’ On” -

Donald Scholz, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from MIT, formed BOSTON in the early 1970s. The group’s eponymous debut album was released in 1976 and ranks as one of the best-selling debut albums in US history. Fran Migliaccio, who was professionally known by the name Fran Cosmo, joined BOSTON in 1992 and was the lead vocalist on multiple BOSTON albums. He toured with the band until approximately 2002. Fran Cosmo’s son, Anthony, wrote songs for BOSTON from 1999-2004, three of which were recorded on one of the group’s albums. He also toured with the band in 2003 and 2004 as a backing vocalist and guitarist.