Ratt’s Juan Croucier wins a battle against Blotzer and DeMartini in court

Ratt’s Juan Croucier wins a battle against Blotzer and DeMartini in court

In what has to be perceived as a victory for former Ratt bassist Juan Croucier, a judge has apparently denied on presumably Thursday, April 7, 2016 the request from WBS (the corporation controlled by shareholders Bobby Blotzer and Warren DeMartini) for a temporary restraining order against Juan Croucier with respect to the use of the Ratt trademark.

An article from The Hollywood Reporter dated April 8, 2016 states in part:

“The original bassist from RATT is using his ex-band’s trademark without permission, according to a federal lawsuit filed by a corporation owned by two of the ’80s metal band’s founding members.

RATT’s heyday was decades ago but the band is still rocking and ex-RATT Juan Croucier is confusing fans by playing under a similar moniker, according to a request for a temporary restraining order filed Monday in California.

The application claims two of the original band members, Robert Blotzer and Warren DeMartini, are the only remaining shareholders in WBS, a corporation which owns the RATT marks. WBS claims Croucier formed his own band in 2015 called Juan Croucier’s RATT’s and is intentionally infringing on their trademark in an effort to capitalize off of their band’s recognition.

Croucier left the band willingly in 1997, but came back as a contract bassist for shows in 2012 and 2013, WBS says, and he left at the end of 2013 because he wanted to be lead singer of RATT and the group wouldn’t let him.

According to the TRO application, Croucier has been using the RATT mark on advertisements, websites, merchandise and marquees and has been “referring to himself as ‘The Other Voice of RATT,’ even though, as mentioned above, he was never the lead singer of RATT.”

Croucier claims he never consented to transfer his ownership in the RATT marks when he left the band in the late ’90s.

U.S. District Court judge Dean R. Pregerson isn’t convinced either party owns the marks. He denied the request on Thursday, finding “given the uncertainty regarding ownership of the marks, Plaintiff has not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits.”

You can read the entire article at The Hollywood Reporter.

Sleaze Roxx attended a show in Toronto from Ratt’s Juan Croucier back in late September 2015. The show poster may have had the Ratt name on it but there was no confusion for Sleaze Roxx on who was playing on that night. Sleaze Roxx stated at the beginning of its concert review: “Blotzer v. Pearcy — Blotzer v. Croucier — DeMartini v. Blotzer — the various disputes over the use of the Ratt name, which are all legal in nature, have been making headlines in the last few months. I am mindful that it is really likely corporations such as WBS, Inc. suing other corporations but we know the players or “directors” behind the corporations. There are currently three different versions of some form of Ratt spin-off band being pawned to the public. You have Stephen Pearcy, the ex-lead singer of Ratt, who has been touring on his own and playing the Ratt hits for decades. In the last few months, we have had Bobby Blotzer’s Ratt Experience which was formed to play the Ratt hits and which in the last few days has “officially” adopted the name Ratt. Finally, you have Ratt‘s former bassist Juan Croucier who has just started touring under the moniker Ratt’s Juan Croucier. Personally, I have no issue with any of these bands because at the end of the day, it is obvious that Blotzer, Pearcy, Croucier and DeMartini are not able to work as a cohesive unit so even if you have one, two or even three watered down versions of Ratt spin-off bands out there, who fucking cares?”