Misfits Sue Book Publisher Over Use of the Band’s Iconic Skull Logo

The Misfits have filed suit against Abrams Books over the use of the band's iconic logo, the "Fiend Skull," as it is known to the group and its fans. The usage in question that the band cites as misappropriated appears in the book publisher's 2019 visual history Scream With Me: The Enduring Legacy of the Misfits.

The complaint was filed Monday (March 9) by Misfits AD, the company formed by founding Misfits Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only to manage the group's activities after the pair reunited in 2016. (They currently perform as The Original Misfits.) World Intellectual Property Review first reported it the following day.

"Abrams' unauthorized copying of the 'Fiend Skull' mark as the main image on the cover of the book" is likely to confuse, the complaint states. It continues that readers may "mistakenly believe that Abrams and the book are endorsed, approved, or sponsored by, or affiliated, connected, or associated with Misfits AD."

Scream With Me was authored by Tom Bejgrowicz and Jeremy Dean; it contains a forward by artist Shepard Fairy. The book presents the Misfits' "visual story as told through the original ephemera that helped define their legacy." The cover contains a representation of the "Fiend Skull" or the "Crimson Ghost."

According to the suit, the design is misleadingly and prominently displayed repeatedly throughout the book. The band has accused Abrams of both copyright and trademark infringement, as well as false designation of origin, a consumer law claim that denotes misrepresentation of a product's source.

Currently, the only Misfits show on the books for 2020 is a performance at Mexico's Domination Festival in May. Danzig will be back in action for Danzig Sings Elvis performances next month in California, followed by his namesake act's return to touring. Misfits guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein's solo band also hits the road this spring.

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