Court Rules in Favor of Cro-Mags Founder Harley Flanagan in Dispute Over the Band’s Name

Cro-Mags are at it again when it comes to battling it out over who has the rights to the name. This round, John Joseph is completely banned from using the moniker, or any iteration thereof.

It’s old news that band founder Harley Flanagan sued former vocalist John Joseph for using the name. At the time, the courts agreed that it was okay for Joseph to use “Cro-Mags JM.” However, apparently he ended up using “Cro-Mags JAM,” not “JM,” at an April 23 benefit concert in New York, which broke the terms of their agreement. Bad move apparently; now he’s not allowed to use anything. There was allegedly some confusion about which version of Cro-Mags were to appear at the festival, and we can just imagine the sounds of a bunch of New York hardcore dudes arguing about it.

According to Lambgoat, the papers were officially filed on September 30 with the Southern District of New York Federal Court that will settle who the trve Cro-Mags are—allegedly—once and for all, stating that Johnson is no longer allowed to use any iteration of the name.

This lawsuit has been going on since 2018 when Flanagan initially filed for trademark infringement. Things appear to be resolved for now, but the way things have been going, who knows if the issue could be opened back up again.

The Harley Flanagan version of Cro-Mags released their new EP Don’t Give In back in June of 2019. They also released their first new music video since “We Gotta Know” in 1992.

“This is our first ‘real’ video since ‘We Gotta Know’ because it’s a real look at the live energy of Cro-Mags; it’s not some staged video — its real, raw footage shot at our shows,” he said at the time.