Widow of Motown bass legend sues string vendor-- Maker of heavy-gauge strings is using name and image of James Jamerson without permission

By John Minnis Legal News The family and heirs of John Dillinger have more rights than do the widows of Motown music legends. That's because Indiana has a right-of-publicity statute. Michigan does not, according to Pontiac attorney Jeffrey Thennisch, a shareholder with Dobrusin & Thennisch. "I find it ironic," he says, "that the family of John Dillinger gain benefit from his name and likeness while the widows of Motown artists cannot." The point was driven home to Thennisch recently in the case of Annie Jamerson, widow of James Jamerson -- "the father of the modern bass guitar" and "Motown's secret weapon." James Jamerson was one of the so-called "Funk Brothers" who backed up the top Motown artists in "Studio A" at Hitsville U.S.A. on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit. As studio artists -- "sidemen" -- the Funk Brothers were rarely if ever included on record labels and were paid a fraction of the artists they backed up, including Stevie Wonder, The Miracles, The Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, Gladys Knight and the Pips and Marvin Gaye. James Jamerson performed on more No. 1 pop hits than The Beatles and was a primary influence on the Fab Four's bass player, Paul McCartney. The Motown artist played a stock 1962 Fender Precision Bass -- known as "The Funk Machine" -- with La Bella heavy-gauge flatwound strings, which are still sold today by La Bella Strings of New York. That is where the widow Annie Jamerson comes in. Thennisch, who has several other Motown widows and artists as clients, was helping Annie Jamerson track down artists her late husband played for and to collect on royalties from the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Annie Jamerson does not have a computer, so Thennisch began searching the Internet for her. "I started coming across all these commercial products," he says, "posters, T-shirts and these bass strings." He sent out cease-and-desist letters to everyone he could find using James Jamerson's name and/or likeness. All responded and discontinued the practice -- except La Bella Strings, makers of the "James Jamerson Set" of flatwound strings. Thennisch even went on La Bella's Web site and ordered a set of the "Jamerson" strings, which are now an exhibit in Annie Jamerson's suit against E. & O. Mari Inc., La Bella's parent company. The family-owned E. & O. Mari company dates back to 17th century Italy and to 1913 in the United States. The company still operates out of New York. While La Bella President Richard Cocco Jr. initially told Thennisch that the company would stop using the Jamerson name, as of Jan. 21, La Bella's Web site and catalog still included James Jamerson's name and likeness. Since the suit was filed, the Jamerson name and likeness have been removed from the La Bella Web site. "Sadly," Thennisch says of the lawsuit, "that is the only thing that did get it off the Web site." La Bella President Cocco did not return a voice message left on his office answering machine. Thennisch said Annie Jamerson, like most Motown widows, is quietly living on a fixed income and not looking for confrontation. "This isn't a situation where she was looking for anyone to sue," Annie Jamerson's attorney says. "They deserve the fruits of their labor and creativity, and their widows and heirs deserve to share in that." He said the situation is particularly tough for the many Motown artists, widows and heirs living in Detroit. In the United States, the right of publicity is a state-based right, as opposed to federal, and recognition of the right can vary from state to state. "The state of Michigan does not have a right-of-publicity statute," Thennisch says. "There is a big need for it here in Michigan." Published: Tue, Feb 16, 2010

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