Key Takeaways

• Trademark Lawsuit: Chrome Hearts has dropped its trademark lawsuit against Neil Young regarding the name of his band, The Chrome Hearts.
• Background: The lawsuit was filed last year, claiming infringement on trademarks used by Chrome Hearts since the late 1980s.
• Recent Developments: The case was voluntarily dismissed without indication of a settlement.
• Band’s Activity: Neil Young’s band is actively releasing music under the name The Chrome Hearts.

A fashion brand called Chrome Hearts has dropped a trademark lawsuit it filed against Neil Young over his use of the same name for his new backing band.

The case, filed last year, took aim at The Chrome Hearts, Young’s new group that he debuted in 2024 and has played with ever since. It claimed that the name infringed the trademarks to a name the company had used since the late 1980s for apparel, jewelry and accessories.

But in a court filing Thursday (May 14), Chrome Hearts said it would voluntarily dismiss the case against Young and the other members of the band. The filing did not indicate whether the case had ended in a settlement agreement or had simply been dropped.

Neither side immediately returned requests for comment.

For decades, Young toured and recorded off and on with the band Crazy Horse, often under the name Neil Young and Crazy Horse. In September 2024, he debuted The Chrome Hearts at FarmAid. The group released its debut album, Talkin to the Trees, in June 2025 and later went on a world tour.

The new name was apparently unwelcome news for Chrome Hearts, a Los Angeles-based brand that says it has sold apparel and other goods under that name — often written in a Gothic script with a stylized cross — since 1988.

“Defendants’ continued use of the confusingly similar [Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts] name in commerce violates Chrome Hearts’ valuable intellectual property rights,” the company wrote in its lawsuit against Young.

As Billboard wrote at the time, the case faced difficult odds in court. Trademark law doesn’t grant anyone an absolute monopoly on words, and it only protects brand names to the extent they’re used on similar goods or services in a way that confuses consumers. Would any fans really think Neil Young’s band was somehow linked to a small fashion brand?

Young, for his part, doesn’t appear to be backing away from the name. The Chrome Hearts is set to release a live album later this month, and recently finished recording the band’s second studio album — both under the full “Chrome Hearts” name.