FKA twigs has won the first stage of the trademark case between her and the Los Angeles indie band The Twigs. NME reported that US District Judge Jed S. Rakoff ruled on Tuesday, August 18 that the band's infringement claims were too old to proceed, citing the doctrine of laches, which bars unreasonable delay in bringing a legal action.
Quoting court documents obtained by Billboard, NME reported the judge found the band members had been aware of the singer's use of the name "as early as 2013 when the parties exchanged emails," and certainly by 2014, when they sued her. He noted they took no action over her releases until 2024 and did not file the current claims until 2026.
The dispute goes back more than ten years. The band, made up of sisters Laura Good and Linda Good, sued the singer, whose name is Tahliah Barnett, in 2014 over a trademark they had used since 1996. They lost that injunction request and dropped the case. It restarted in 2024, when they sent her a cease-and-desist letter after she applied for a trademark of her own.
Barnett then sued, asking a judge to declare that her stage name does not infringe theirs and arguing that the pair were pressing baseless claims to extract money. The band countersued, alleging she was using her fame and money to "destroy" their trademark.
Rakoff's ruling is final on the infringement question, and it means Barnett cannot be sued over the name. Her own accusations, that the band pressured her to change it, are still to be resolved.
Court papers filed in May, reported at the time by Rolling Stone, said Barnett had offered the duo $15,000 to let the two acts coexist and was turned down. Her lawyers argued nobody would confuse them, pointing to her 3.2 million monthly Spotify listeners against the band's 25. The courts have taken plenty of music business fights lately: a Christian metal band sued Netflix over a trademark, and Alanis Morissette sued a former tour manager over an alleged blackmail scheme. Barnett released the album EUSEXUA last year, which NME gave five stars, and followed it with EUSEXUA Afterglow, which got four.
The facts
- Judge Jed S. Rakoff ruled on August 18, 2026.
- He found The Twigs' infringement claims were brought too late.
- The ruling cites the doctrine of laches.
- The Twigs are sisters Laura Good and Linda Good.
- They first sued FKA twigs in 2014 and dropped that case.
- They sent a cease-and-desist letter in 2024.
- Court papers say she offered the duo $15,000 to coexist.
- Her claim that the band pressured her is unresolved.
How this checks out
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Reported by 2 independent outlets
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