Joan Jett and Cherie Currie sue to protect rights

Baker Hostetler today announced the filing of a complaint in the

Supreme Court of the State of New York seeking to protect the rights of Joan Jett and Cherie

Currie against unauthorized use of their images, voices and biographical information by former

employee Lauren Varga and Main Man Records.



The complaint alleges that Varga is a disgruntled former employee who used the names, voices

and likenesses of Jett and Currie in unauthorized ways to promote a new album entitled Take it

or Leave it: A Tribute to the Queens of Noise for Main Man Records, scheduled for release later

this month.



Baker Hostetler Partner Oren Warshavsky, who filed the complaint, said: “We will be moving

for a preliminary injunction. The injunction will seek to prevent the defendants from distributing

the album with the current packaging and advertising.”



In addition to the unauthorized record release, the complaint alleges that Varga falsely reported

in public that she continued to work closely with Jett and Currie, and that she had the approval of

both artists for the making of the album. “Artists made the decision to participate and create

recordings for this album based on Ms. Varga’s patently false assurance that Joan Jett and Cherie

Currie, and their record company, Blackheart Records, supported their efforts,” said Mr.

Warshavsky. “Ms. Jett, Ms. Currie and Blackheart did not support the album and have made

repeated requests of both Ms. Varga and Main Man Records to cease and desist with its

production and sales.”



“Ms. Varga’s and Main Man Music’s actions were undertaken with a blatant disregard for Ms.

Jett’s and Ms. Currie’s respective rights. Ms. Varga should not receive financial gain or other

benefits from the use of their names, likenesses and biographical information without consent to

do so,” Warshavsky concluded.



Joan Jett, recognized as the Queen of Rock & Roll, is best known for her recordings Bad

Reputation, I Love Rock N’ Roll, Crimson and Clover, I Hate Myself for Loving You, Do You

Want to Touch Me, Light of Day, Love Is All Around, and Little Liar. Her recording of I Love

Rock N’ Roll was ranked 14th most popular rock & roll song of all time by Billboard, and Bad

Reputation was named 29th best hard rock song of all time by VH1. She is one of Rolling

Stone’s “Top 100 Guitarists of All Time,” one of only two women guitarists listed. Her cross genre

attitude, sound and styling have made her a female icon among hard rock, punk, and rock

& roll audiences for decades. Jett supports numerous charitable organizations and has traveled to

Iraq and Afghanistan to entertain the U.S. troops stationed there.



Cherie Currie was the lead singer of The Runaways, founded by Joan Jett in 1975. Ms. Currie

released two solo albums, Beauty’s Only Skin Deep and Messin’ with the Boys. She too is a

major female figure in rock & roll history as The Runaways and their success in the thirty-five

years since they first formed continue to pave the way for artists and bands around the world.

Currie wrote a memoir entitled Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway that inspired the 2010

movie about The Runaways, starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning.



In addition to Mr. Warshavsky, Baker Hostetler attorneys Anthony Stark and Jessie Schweller

contributed to the filing.

About Baker Hostetler

Founded in 1916, Baker Hostetler is among the nation's 100 largest law firms with more than 700 attorneys coast to

coast, delivering the highest quality legal counsel on the most complex and critical issues facing clients today. The

firm has offices in Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Costa Mesa, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New

York, Orlando, and Washington, D.C. Its five primary practice groups are Business, Employment, Intellectual

Property, Litigation and Tax. For more information, please visit www.bakerlaw.com.