Rudolph Isley has sued his brother Ronald Isley for allegedly taking the “The Isley Brothers” name as his own.
Rudolph, 83, complained that Ronald, 81, was granted a U.S. trademark last August, giving him “sole exclusive right in and to the Mark in his individual capacity.”
The pair, with brother O’Kelly Isley, created The Isley Brothers in 1954 and recorded and performed together until 1973. When O’Kelly died in 1986, his interests in the act were shared equally by Rudolph and Ronald, according to the statement of claim.
Rudolph, who stepped away from performing in 1989 due to health issues, insisted neither he nor Ronald have “the authority to enter into deals concerning the Group or the exploitation of the Mark without consent of the other party.”
Rudolph is seeking an accoutning of “the transactions completed and the revenues earned through Ronald’s improper registration” of the group’s name as well as half of those earnings.
In a letter dated Jan. 10, 2023, a lawyer representing Ronald said his client “set up his own corporate entity to do business solely related to his own musical/entertainment career.” Navarro W. Gray said Ronald is only selling his own merch and “there are fakes sites selling unauthorized merch.”
He suggested that Rudolph has no claim to The Isley Brothers name because he has not been involved with the act for about 36 years.
“Ronald has no problem jointly deciding and incorporating Rudolph in Isley Brothers business,” Gray wrote. “However, it would be only for the years that Rudolph was a working member of the Isley Brother’s (sic) group.”
The Isley Brothers had hits like “Shout,” "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)," “It’s Your Thing” and “Spill the Wine.” They were honoured with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 and were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame last year.
In the forthcoming Spinning Gold, a biopic about Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart, Ronald is portrayed by Jason Derulo and Rudolph is played by Montreal’s Doron Bell.