Der Zappa Krappa: Family Loses Lawsuit

The ever-litigious Gail Zappa strikes out this time around...

By Fred Mills

Some time ago Frank Zappa's estate, headed up by widow Gail Zappa, sued the German Frank Zappa fan club over the use of the late composer's name in their annual get-together in called the Zappanale festival. She'd filed for damages of $325,000 and demanded the removal of a bronze sculpture of FZ. Last week, however a German court ruled against Zappa, saying that her "rights were not violated and that she could not prove she uses the Zappa brand in Germany herself [and] has had knowledge of the festival since it began in 1990."

The festival organizers are free to continue on with the festival as well as use Zappa's image on festival-related logos and merch. Said Zappa fan club president Thomas Dippel, "We have always been certain that we have the older rights," he said. "We have also patented the name of the festival with the German patent office. Gail Zappa only applied for the patent of her own rights in 2002."

The 2009 festival takes place August 12-16 in Bad Doberan and will feature a number of bands performing Zappa music.