Hotel leverages brand
The band The Eagles is suing a hotel in Baja California Sur, Mexico, for allegedly using the song "Hotel California" to promote itself. According to the band, the establishment is trying to pass itself off as "Hotel California" despite having no connection to the song.
According to Reuters, the band is suing the hotel for actively calling itself "Hotel California" to sell t-shirts and other merchandise . This apparently includes playing their music on the hotel's sound system and selling t-shirts that claim the hotel is "legendary." The band also alleges that the hotel has initiated proceedings to officially change its name to Hotel California.
In fact, the hotel was founded in 1950 under the name "Hotel California" but has undergone a series of name changes since then. The Eagles claim that in 2001, even with the name Todos Santos at the time, the establishment began to 'take advantage' of the name's similarity to the title of the band's song, released in 1976.
Neither the hotel nor the band has commented on the lawsuit so far.
