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Steve Perry, the former lead singer of Journey, has dropped his lawsuit against the other members of the band for the trademarks to 20 of its most popular songs. Perry, who permanently quit the band in 1998, filed court documents in September 2022 to stop Freedom JN LLC, a business run by Journey members Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain, from utilizing the band's trademarks on items.
Perry asserted that he, Cain, and Schon had a contract stating that any business decisions involving the trademarks required unanimous approval, and that Perry had not given his authorization. Due to what he claims to be false information regarding the trademark, Perry also charged the pair with "fraud on the trademark office." However, Schon took to Twitter on Friday to reveal that Perry had filed to withdraw the lawsuit earlier that day, sharing the cancellation filing as evidence.
When asked directly if Perry had withdrawn the lawsuit, Schon responded, "Yes he did. Now we can talk as we were." Schon, who has been involved in a lengthy legal battle with Cain, blamed Perry's filing of the lawsuit on Cain, tweeting, "So much for [Cain] trying to throw me under the bus as he claimed I was blatantly trying to rip off [Perry] while collecting the checks for the very diligent work my wife and I did to protect our Merch."
In December, Neal Schon filed a cease-and-desist order against Jonathan Cain in an effort to prevent him from performing the Journey hit "Don't Stop Believin'" at Mar-a-Lago.So much for JC trying to throw me under the bus as he claimed I was blatantly trying to rip off SP while collecting the checks for the very diligent work my wife and I did to protect our Merch.
Time for coffee ?? pic.twitter.com/xsGQBr0wob — NEAL SCHON MUSIC (@NealSchonMusic) January 7, 2023
This followed Cain's performance of the song at an event at Donald Trump's country club the previous month, where he was accompanied by backup singers including Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Kari Lake. Cain's wife, Paula White, serves as Trump's spiritual advisor.
In 2021, Schon and Cain were on the same side when they fought against former bandmates Ross Valory and Steve Smith, who were attempting to gain control of the band's name in order to fund their retirement. The dispute was eventually resolved amicably.
Freedom Tour
Journey is set to embark on their Freedom Tour in January 27, 2022, in Durant, Oklahoma, with Schon and Cain performing together despite their legal issues. Schon also noted that Santana and original Journey keyboardist and lead singer Gregg Rolie will be rejoining the band for the first time in 43 years for the upcoming tour.
However, even Rolie's involvement could potentially lead to more legal issues, according to a post on Schon's Facebook page.