Live Nation Calls My Chemical Romance Cheer Skit 'Parody' in Court Filing

Live Nation has told a court that the lookalike Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders uniforms worn at three My Chemical Romance shows were "a successful parody" protected by the First Amendment. The filing, obtained by Rolling Stone, responds to a lawsuit from the cheer squad's parent company, Pro Silver Star, over performances at the Hollywood Bowl on Oct. 21, 23 and 24.

The squad sued the band and Live Nation last week, arguing that knockoff versions of its signature blue-and-white uniforms — worn by dancers during a mock gun battle onstage — infringed its protectable trade dress. In the skit, dancers in star-spangled cheer uniforms stormed the stage with rifles drawn, aiming at black-clad troops representing a fictional dictatorship. A mock gun battle followed, according to video of the performance that circulated online and was cited in the lawsuit.

Lawyers for the squad sought an emergency restraining order ahead of two more shows this weekend. That dispute appears resolved. No lawyer for the band appeared at what was expected to be a courtroom showdown this week, and a docket entry said an agreement had been reached. A declaration from the band's manager states a restraining order was unnecessary because the costumes were never intended for use beyond the three October performances. Live Nation also submitted a Tuesday email from the band's music attorney, David Byrnes, telling the cheerleaders there was "no need to proceed" with the request.

What does the remaining case turn on?

With the restraining order fight settled, Live Nation moved the rest of the case to federal court. "This is a trademark case about a musical group's artistic expression and the First Amendment," the filing states. It argues Pro Silver Star is improperly attempting "to use trademark law to line edit theatrical staging at a Los Angeles concert because [it] dislikes the way the show parodied one of the most famous uniforms in the United States."

The filing contends no viewers believed the dancers were real Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. "Recognition is not confusion," it says. "Observers understood the performance as an allusive, exaggerated, theatrical reference within a My Chemical Romance show."

Pro Silver Star is seeking unspecified profits and damages, a trial, and a permanent injunction barring My Chemical Romance from using the allegedly infringing costumes in future performances. The lawsuit, filed Oct. 23 but not appearing on the Collin County docket until Monday, claims the DCC brand was built on "dedication, character, and community, and on decades of entertaining American troops" and that the Hollywood Bowl show, where performers were "shown shooting and being shot," was "degrading" to the brand.

The company frames its demand narrowly. It says it is not asking the band to change its setlist, narrative, politics, choreography, "or even their decision to put gun-toting performers on stage." Instead, "Silver Star asks only that those performers not wear the DCC uniform while doing it. The universe of alternative costume designs is effectively unlimited."

Rolling Stone's attempts to reach Alex Spiro, the lawyer who filed the suit on behalf of the squad, were not immediately successful.

The band, for its part, has moved on. After its final Hollywood Bowl shows, My Chemical Romance begins the Asian leg of its tour on Nov. 7 in South Korea, with dates to follow in Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia — while a federal judge may soon decide how far trademark law reaches into theatrical staging.