Artists names, or, a case of accidentally copying someone else's alias

[mervv]

Hey, I have a bit of a silly conundrum and I thought it would be helpful to hear what you all think.

I realized a while back that the name under which I've been doing some releases and performances, "mervv," is basically identical to the name of a somewhat popular dub techno artist from the late 90s/2000s who goes by "Merv." This seems to be one of his most popular tunes:

youtu.be/0oF5ROU8-Vs


Now my dilemma is whether or not I should change my name. This guy came first. I've put some effort into things under my own alias. It wouldn't be a huge fuss, but I don't really want to change it. They aren't totally identical.

On the other hand, I don't want the similarity to reflect poorly on myself, e.g. make it seem like I just ripped off his name.

Has anyone ever had this problem themselves, or encountered it in a more professional context? What was done about it?

[zhluq]

Merv isn't a particularly original name to begin with, so I don't really see a problem.
If you'd picked something that's close to something rather unique perhaps that would be questionable. It's not like Merv is exactly a household name either (seems they have one track that's sought-after? i.e. the video above)
There's worse examples out there, like D-Knox and D-Nox.

But ultimately it's up to you. If your output is small enough, it's a good time to change it if you feel it's the right thing to do. Or go full-on bozo mode and use a new alias every time you release something.

[[wesellboxes]]

If you're happy then keep going. If it ever gets to the stage that it's an issue then change it then and you're fanbase will follow suit e.g. Plasticman and Plastician.

[mindstuff]

From a legal perspective are artist names even copyrightable and even if they were what global organization would police that anyway? Maybe the distribution platforms? Dunno as I never released anything.
If your tracks sound similar to merv's then yeah maybe a name change would be helpful for your benefit.

[Ben Kohonays]

From a legal perspective are artist names even copyrightable and even if they were what global organization would police that anyway?

It has less to do with copyright and more to do with trading on someone else's reputation, plus the possibility that their reputation could be negatively affected by your actions.

The way it tends to be policed is by the original user of a name taking you to court.

There are numerous examples (mostly in more pop/commercial music realms) whereby an act on the rise or even well established has had to confront this, frequently ending up in an out-of-court settlement, or sometimes a name change.

[[wesellboxes]]

There are numerous examples (mostly in more pop/commercial music realms) whereby an act on the rise or even well established has had to confront this, frequently ending up in an out-of-court settlement, or sometimes a name change.

The most famous being The Chemical Brothers who originally called themselves The Dust Brothers in tribute to the hip hop producers.

[Lost to the Void]

You have the extra v....
If you are attached to the name enotionally then you should be fine if you keep it.

[subvers^v]

There are numerous examples (mostly in more pop/commercial music realms) whereby an act on the rise or even well established has had to confront this, frequently ending up in an out-of-court settlement, or sometimes a name change.

The most famous being The Chemical Brothers who originally called themselves The Dust Brothers in tribute to the hip hop producers.

Most famous? How did the brother work that out?

You are forgetting about The Cheeky Girls.
They had to change their name from The Skank Bitches cos it was already taken...

Meh, look up wiki and you'll see "Band Name (99)"
No big deal. Keep it if you like it...
Or, you could change it to Pervv? Just an idea...

[mervv]

All of the very famous examples have helped me feel better about both keeping it and the possibility of changing it later, thank you everyone!

You have the extra v....
If you are attached to the name enotionally then you should be fine if you keep it.

I'm a bit attached, since it's part of the way that I interface with the scene where I live, which I am definitely attached to. Some people who know me from that even call me it, since some people here find my given name hard to pronounce/remember

Most famous? How did the brother work that out?

You are forgetting about The Cheeky Girls.
They had to change their name from The Skank Bitches cos it was already taken...

Meh, look up wiki and you'll see "Band Name (99)"
No big deal. Keep it if you like it...
Or, you could change it to Pervv? Just an idea...

That settles it, Pervv it is then