Earlier this month, Goldenvoice filed a lawsuit against Live Nation over an event the company is attempting to host which bears a title similar to another well-known showcase. Live Nation was set to hold the Coachella Day One 22 festival in California on New Year’s Eve, but thanks to a new ruling from a judge, some changes will have to be made. According to Rolling Stone, Judge R. Gary Klausner awarded Goldenvoice with a restraining order against Live Nation over the event, which features a name similar to the former’s Coachella festival, which is set to go down in April 2022.
Judge Klausner ruled that Goldenvoice is “likely to succeed” with its copyright infringement argument against Live Nation. While the ruling will require Live Nation to make some changes, it does not stop them from hosting the festival as planned. With the restraining order, Judge Klausner called Live Nation’s argument “simply unpersuasive,” adding it “does not rebut the presumption of irreparable harm.”
The ruling comes after Goldenvoice filed two separate cease-and-desist letters to Live Nation in October and November for promoting and selling tickets for Coachella Day One 22. The original lawsuit was filed against Live Nation instead of the festival’s organizers, Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, because the indigenous tribe that operates the venue Coachella Crossroads — where Coachella Day One 22 was set to be held — is “entitled to sovereign immunity and therefore not subject to suit.”
Twenty-Nine Palms on the other hand previously tried to file a copyright for “Coachella Crossroads” but were denied over confusion with the Coachella festival. After a second application, however, they were approved after saying they would only host community and sports events. Despite this, they’ve promoted music-related events at the venue including a Toby Keith concert that took place in May.
