In the battle of Delco’s Jellyroll v. Jelly Roll the country music star, the legal jam is settled
And two jellies remain.
The legal beef (er, jam) between Chadds Ford wedding band Jellyroll and country music star Jelly Roll has reached a settlement.
Kurt Titchenell, Jellyroll’s founder-trombonist, sued Tennessee country music star Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in April over the name.
Titchenell confirmed through an emailed statement that he’d withdrawn his trademark infringement lawsuit Tuesday. He did not expand on the terms of the settlement.
“We look forward to our continued use of the name, Jellyroll Band, in connection with our party band business,” said Titchenell.
Management for the country star did not respond to a request for comment.
In his suit, Titchenell claimed he’d been jamming at celebratory and charitable events in the Delaware Valley since at least 1980. The band’s mix of old-timey wedding staples and top-40 tunes took the group to the Union League, the Army-Navy game, and George W. Bush’s White House — twice. Its footprint now spans the Northeast. Titchenell trademarked the Jellyroll name in 2010, renewing it in 2019 for “entertainment services in the nature of live musical performances.”
The suit argued the country star only started using the name in 2010, but his recent success created confusion when people Googled the band.
Once the top music-related Jelly result on the web, the band claimed in its suit that it had been bumped about 20 spots in search results. In the month the suit was filed, the Tennessean Jelly Roll won three fan-voted CMT Music Awards.
What’s more, the band worried Jelly Roll’s “troubled past” — the country star was convicted of felony robbery and drug charges — would hurt the Jellyroll brand.
The popular wedding band tried filing a cease-and-desist early in 2024 to no avail. The country singer’s legal team questioned if the two jellies were really in competition.
By April, the wedding band doubled down on its demands, asking a judge to order the Tennessee Jelly Roll to stop using “any similar derivation” of the name.
Though the settlement terms weren’t made public, both parties appear to be moving forward with their jelly derivations untouched.
The country Jelly Roll is slated to play at the Wells Fargo Center in October. All marketing materials online remain the same.