My Chemical Romance Settles with Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Over Stage Uniforms

My Chemical Romance has agreed to stop dressing its backup dancers in copies of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders' trademarked uniforms, ending a legal fight before it reached a courtroom.

The cheer squad, arguably the most famous in the world, sued the rock band late Friday in Texas, accusing it of infringing the trademarked royal blue and white uniforms during a mock gun battle at the Hollywood Bowl last week. A temporary restraining order hearing had been set for Oct. 28 in Collin County. Online court records confirm the showdown was cancelled because an "agreement [was] reached." Sources confirm to Rolling Stone that My Chemical Romance agreed to stop using the costumes going forward.

What actually happened on stage?

The trouble started at the band's show last Wednesday. Dancers wearing supposedly infringing star-spangled 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.

The lawsuit, obtained by Rolling Stone, didn't mince words:

"The brand DCC built on dedication, character, and community, and on decades of entertaining American troops, was thus put on a stage in a gunfight, its uniform worn by performers shown shooting and being shot."

The suit was originally filed in Dallas County and later removed to Collin County. Other videos from the Friday night show depicted the dancers still dressed in the disputed outfits.

What does the agreement change?

In practice, only the wardrobe. Pro Silver Star, the parent company that owns the cheer group's trademark, spelled out the limits of its complaint in the filing:

"[It] does not ask defendants to change their setlist, narrative, politics, choreography, or even their decision to put gun-toting performers on stage. Silver Star asks only that those performers not wear the DCC Uniform while doing it. The universe of alternative costume designs is effectively unlimited."

That's a rare legal document that reads like a costume memo. The band keeps its dictatorship narrative and its rifles. It just can't borrow America's most litigated pom-poms while firing them.

What comes next for the tour?

The band plays two more Hollywood Bowl shows, on Oct. 30 and Halloween, capping its celebration of the 20th anniversary of its 2006 album The Black Parade. Then the production moves east: the Asian leg of the anniversary tour opens Nov. 7 in South Korea, with dates to follow in Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Expect different costumes. The rifle choreography, presumably, travels as is.