http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/arbitration-finally-decides-long-standing-en-vogue-name-dispute

illy me! I didn't even know there was a dispute. I figured the group's members had just moved on to other things - family, other careers, etc.

But as I learned this afternoon, there has indeed been a long-standing dispute over who gets to claim ownership and thus exploit the group's name - En Vogue.

In summary, thanks to The Hollywood Reporter, who got a hold of the official arbitration decision today:

- The members of En Vogue entered an agreement that created an En Vogue LLC in 2006.

- In 2009, the group (and so the LLC) hired Joe Mulvihill to be their manager, entitling him to a 10 percent commission.

- Soon after, one member, Dawn Robinson, left the group on her own accord. The remaining 3 then got into a squabble over management. On one side, Cindy Herron-Braggs and Terry Ellis were set on using the manager they already all initially agreed on, Joe Mulvihill. On the other, Maxine Jones wanted her own manager.

- Jones then hired her own manager, Julian Jackson, and requested that the group's then current manager, Mulvihill be fired. However, the other existing members wouldn't agree to that.

- So the other 2, Braggs and Ellis, replaced Jones, because she refused to agree to bookings of the entire group, which caused the group to lose out on gigs. And then Jones re-teamed with Robinson, who had already left the group before all this started.

- The problems really began when both groups of women - Herron-Braggs and Ellis on one hand, and Jones and Robinson on the other - started booking themselves separately, and appearing as En Vogue, essentially creating 2 different En Vogue groups. That eventually led to a demand for arbitration by one, or both sides, which was filed last July (2012).

And after 7 months of arbitration, Robert Nau, the arbitrator, reached a final decision this year, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, which states as follows:

"While the Agreement does not expressly state who owns the group name, I find that, by implication and inference, the Company owns all right, title and interest and to the trademark, tradename, service mark and stage name 'En Vogue [...] Claimants [Braggs and Ellis] both approved of the engagement and retention of Mulvihill as the manager of the group. Without the approval of at least one other member of the Company, Respondent [Jones] did not have the right on her own to overrule the decision of the Company to use Mulvihill as the manager of the group."

Nau ruled that Maxine Jones breached the group's (LLC's) original agreement by using the name En Vogue after she split with the group and hired her own manager. Essentially, she didn't have a right to the name.

And the damages Jones will have to pay the other members for this breach totals just over $15,000 - but it's really only legal fees, court costs, and such, incurred by Herron-Braggs and Ellis. So, no *real* award damages.

It seemed like a relatively easy decision. Jones' breach of the original agreement between the group I think is clear. So she has no rights to the name anymore. If she wants to use the name En Vogue, I guess she'll have to get back together with the other 2 members - something that will depend on what their relationship is like after all this.

But you guys know what's coming next, right? An En Vogue biopic!

What an odd situation. I wonder what Maxine's beef was with the manager. It seems like she'd have been better off quitting and starting fresh.

Doesn;t sound like they were sqabbling over a fortune either.

Too bad, I really liked them & would think about seeing them live it was all four.

It must be a hellish experience being a member of En Vogue.

RIP En Vogue

They're too old for that shit.

Cinny said:

I wish *NONE* of them could use the name unless they all forgave each other and reunited.

That would be too much like right.

SoulAlive said:

These ladies are non-stop drama. there was a time when Dawn didn't get along with the other girls.It never ends.Maybe it's time for all of them to call it a day....since they always seem to have conflicts with each other

Cinny said:

I wish *NONE* of them could use the name unless they all forgave each other and reunited.

This would be a great idea I bet they would suddenly find a way to bury the hatchet and make up,lol.They want those paychecks to keep rollin' in.

phunkdaddy said:

As much as I like Dawn it seems that Terry and Cindy are the level headed ones. This thing with Maxine just seems odd.

I remember a Vibe interview that Dawn did,right about the time that her solo album was being released.She was gloating at the fact that EnVogue's first album without her,was a huge flop.But then her own solo record was released,and it sold 5 copies....LOL....karma has a way of catching up with people.

phunkdaddy said:

SoulAlive said:

These ladies are non-stop drama. there was a time when Dawn didn't get along with the other girls.It never ends.Maybe it's time for all of them to call it a day....since they always seem to have conflicts with each other

IKR. As much as I like Dawn it seems that Terry and Cindy are the level headed ones. This thing with Maxine just seems odd.

I always preferred Terry and Cindy over the other two.

No one is really checking for them anymore, anyway. They had their time and it is done. Move on.

bumping-this is the og post on this subject

scriptgirl said:

- Jones then hired her own manager, Julian Jackson,

Julian who used 2 work with Teddy Riley?

SoulAlive said:

It's always something with them! It seems like they have been beefin' and going back and forth with lineup changes for a long time.

I loved Dawn in Lucy Pearl but that didn't last either.

Dawn is supposed to be on R & B Divas, the L.A. version.

It's so funny when folks who had fame don't realise it's OVA.

Cinny said:

I wish *NONE* of them could use the name unless they all forgave each other and reunited.

OR I can say f*** all of what is left of En Vogue and listen to Expose instead.

EDIT

[Edited 4/2/13 6:32am]

uPtoWnNY said:

It's so funny when folks who had fame don't realise it's OVA.

YOU KNOW?! Listening to Dawn, you think it was still 1992...

En Vogue Lawsuit Settled!

A ruling has been announced in the battle for use of the stage name En Vogue. Originally, the name came about in the late ‘80s and has applied to various incarnations of a popular all-female R&B group, but these days, according to a judge, Cindy Herron and Terry Ellis are the only founding members allowed to use it.

Herron, Ellis and Maxine Jones and Dawn Robinson began recording together as En Vogue in 1989. Their earlier music reached the top of the charts and was awarded accolades and coveted industry nods. However, a series of management disputes and solo ventures eventually led to the recent arbitration.

In August 2012, for example, Jones and Robinson attempted to form their own group and book gigs as En Vogue. Herron and Ellis had already formed a limited liability company, En Vogue Enterprises, LLC, in 2006.

The LLC apparently gave Herron and Ellis legal leverage.

Now, Jones (who was the only one named as a “Respondent” to the claim filed by Herron and Ellis) is explicitly limited in how she may use the trademark name: in “non-derogatory biographical information primarily of a personal nature,” and “professionally as ‘formerly of En Vogue’ or words to that effect.”

Herron and Ellis may also recover from Jones some $15,000 in legal and arbitration fees.

Shame on the music industry from not giving them their due and taking advanatage of these women. That said, you have 2 strong personalities and 2 meek personalities. It is so sad that they couldn't drop their egos and/or find their strength to stick together. This is a divide and counquer situation and we have been robbed of their gifts all these years. damn.

So, Cindy and Terry "hold on!" to the name.

Cinny said:

So, Cindy and Terry "hold on!" to the name.

It really does belong to all of them. They all made up En Vogue.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Cinny said:

So, Cindy and Terry "hold on!" to the name.

It really does belong to all of them. They all made up En Vogue.

I agree. The way they re-branded with "EV3" tends to reinforce that En Vogue was originally FOUR.