Rock Star: Blooper Nova

Once Rock Star: Supernova comes to an end, Tommy Lee, Jason Newsted, Gilby Clarke and the winner named on Wednesday night will have to find a new name. A San Diego Federal Court has determined that their current one has already been taken. In protecting their intellectual property rights in the "Supernova" trademark, the original Supernova, a California based trio best known for the inclusion of their "Chewbacca" song in Kevin Smith's slacker opus, Clerks, sought an injunction last June to prevent CBS and Mark Burnett Productions from using their name.

In finding in favor of the punk trio, Judge John Houston determined that "the marks are identical, the parties operate in very similar or identical markets, the Supernova [mark] is distinctive and therefore strong, and there is evidence of actual confusion in the market." Presuming irreparable harm to the original Supernova, Judge Houston found that CBS' Supernova's access to a substantial amount of monetary and promotional resources will effectively diminish, if not eliminate, the original Supernova's commercial presence in the marketplace.

The bottom line is that once the show concludes on Wednesday night, the reality show creation will have to find a new name: but then again, if a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet; a mediocre band by any other name may sadly still go platinum and sell out arenas. If there is any corporate accountability left in America, look for a number of CBS Broadcasting and MBP lawyers to be looking for work in the near future.