Eagles Suing Hotel California

One of the best known bands ever, The Eagles, is suing the Hotel California, which is located in Todos Santos, Baja, in Mexico. In the complaint, filed in federal court in the Central District of California, plaintiff “Eagles, Ltd” alleges trademark infringement and unfair competition. “Through advertising targeted to U.S. consumers, and in-person communications, Defendants lead U.S. consumers to believe that the Todos Santos Hotel is associated with the Eagles and, among other things, served as the inspiration for the lyrics in ‘Hotel California,’ which is false,” says the complaint. “Multiple online reviews make clear that U.S. consumers who visit the Todos Santos Hotel and buy Defendants’ merchandise do, in fact, believe that the Todos Santos Hotel is associated with the Eagles, which is not the case.” In a complicating twist, the hotel did open under the name Hotel California in 1950, but then, as the complaint notes, went through a number of ownership and name changes. The Eagle’s hit, and album, was released in 1976. An article about the lawsuit in Rolling Stone looks to its own archives, and a 2016 interview with the albums’s art director in honor of the album’s 40th anniversary to point up an additional twist. “Hotel California” isn’t based on any actual hotel, but when the album came out, it had on the cover a picture of an establishment called the Beverly Hills Hotel. “As the sales of Hotel California went through the roof,” the art director recalled, “lawyers for the Beverly Hills Hotel threatened me with a ‘cease and desist’ action until it was gently pointed out by my attorney that the hotel’s requests for bookings had tripled since the release of the album.”