Van Halen lawsuit

Nearly two decades after Kelly Van Halen divorced drummer Alex Van Halen, she's free to continue to use her famous last name on designer merchandise. 

All it took was three years of fighting at the U.S. Trademark Office and another 15 months in a California federal courtroom. On Monday, attorneys for both Van Halen parties informed a judge that a lawsuit filed in October 2013 should be dismissed. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that the dispute has been settled. After divorcing from Alex, Kelly Van Halen named her construction and interior design company after herself and attempted to register a trademark on her own name for products like chairs, children's blankets, bathing suits, building construction, interior design services and more. In its legal papers, ELVH Inc. — the intellectual property holding company of the rock band — claimed that her trademarks were confusingly similar to their own and that she was diluting Van Halen, passing off Van Halen and committing unfair competition for Van Halen.