Toots Hibbert's Estate has threatened to sue The Maytals for continuing to use the name
Members of the Maytals band were members of the original Toots and the Maytals band, of which Toots Hibbert was the main act until his death. With the singer no longer alive, his family is opposed to other members of the band continuing to use the name "The Maytals" in the future.
A California-based law firm, according to reports, sent a cease-and-desist letter to members of the famous band on July 15. In the lawsuit, Toots' family claims that the band will be unable to perform under the name The Maytals at any upcoming events. Noncompliance may result in legal action.
The letter states
“It has come to our attention that you, or persons purporting to be authorised by you, are infringing and/or contemplating the infringement of our clients’ service mark, ‘Toots and the Maytals’ by, inter alia, advertising and offering to provide entertainment services using the mark ‘The Maytals Band’.”
“Be advised that your use, or threatened use, of said mark is confusingly similar to our clients’ “Toots and the Maytals” mark and is, or will be, an infringement of our clients’ rights in their mark and will cause them irreparable damages including, but not limited to, the denigration and dilution of our clients’ mark and its value and will confuse the public as to the source of said services and the authority under which your entertainment services and related products or services are provided.”
Clifton 'Jackie' Jackson, Charles Faquharson, Carl Harvey, Earl Paul Douglas, and Radcliffe Bryan make up the Maytals band, which has been touring for over 52 years.
Toots Hibbert died on September 11, 2020, at the age of 77, from COVID-19 complications at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.