Fashion label sued rocker in September 2025 over the Chrome Hearts backing band, but voluntarily dismissed the copyright infringement lawsuit Thursday
Luxury fashion brand Chrome Hearts has dropped their copyright infringement lawsuit against Neil Young and his similarly named backing band.
In September 2025 —a few months after Young and his then-new band released their first album Talkin to the Trees — Chrome Hearts (the brand) sued Young and the Chrome Hearts (the band), claiming they never “granted a license” or gave Young “any form of permission to use intellectual property belonging to Chrome Hearts”; the fashion company has existed since the late Eighties, while Young branded the band in late 2024.
In not only using the name Chrome Hearts, but by making and selling merchandise emblazoned with the name “Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts,” the brand said Young and his bandmates would “likely cause confusion” in the marketplace.
However, before the dispute made its way to court, Chrome Hearts said in a court filing Thursday that they would voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit against Young and the band, Billboard reports. The filing did not elaborate as to whether a settlement was reached between the two parties or whether the lawsuit was dropped with resolution.
Despite the lawsuit, Young and the Chrome Hearts continued to operate under that moniker, playing a string of gigs together before Young canceled the entirety of their 2026 tour. As part of the recent Record Store Day, Young and the Chrome Hearts released their live album As Time Explodes, and Young recently finished recording a second studio album with the band.
