Rudolph Isley, one of the founding members of The Isley Brothers, has died. He was 84.
The legendary singer passed away Wednesday in Illinois, TMZ reports.
“The cause of Rudolph’s death is currently unclear,” TMZ adds.
Earlier this year, Billboard reported that Rudolph Isley had filed a lawsuit in Chicago Federal Court against his brother, Ronald Isley, over the trademark rights to their group’s name.
Rudolph Isley claimed that despite the name “The Isley Brothers” being jointly owned by both of them, Ronald alone filed for a federal trademark of the name in 2021 and it was approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
“Counsel for defendant Ronald Isley has asserted in correspondence that defendant alone has exclusive ownership of the [trade]mark,” the complaint reads. “These assertions … are false.”
ABC’s Jill Lances reports that Rudolph Isley’s suit sought to have a judge declare the trademark rights to the name were “jointly owned” by both brothers “equally,” and he wanted any revenue Ronald Isley made from exploiting the trademark to be divided.
But in legal correspondence from before the suit was filed, lawyers for Ronald Isley argue the trademark belongs to the person actually using the name, which was Ronald, noting Rudolph hadn’t performed with The Isley Brothers since 1986. They say for this reason, any profits that Ronald Isley made were his and shouldn’t need to be shared. Read more here.
Stay with us for more on this developing story.