Bethesda Club Faces Maryland Live! Lawsuit Over Name Change

BETHESDA, MD — The owner of the profitable and expanding Maryland Live! Casino has reportedly threatened the owner of the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Club with a lawsuit over a planned name change for the nightspot.

Rick Brown, owner of the Bethesda club, says he’s hired an attorney to defend his plans to rename the renovated venue Bethesda Live. Casino owner The Cordish Companies claims the new nightclub name would infringe on its Live! trademark and would make the public think the jazz club is affiliated with the company.

Representatives for the casino owner have not responded to a request for comment from Patch.

Brown tells Bethesda magazine that “live” shouldn’t be a trademarked word, since it connotes live events and is used by other properties, including long-running Saturday Night Live on NBC.

“We feel like we have the facts on our side, the law on our side and common usage on our side,” Brown told the magazine.

Developers with Maryland Live! Casino in Hanover announced last month that they have purchased a hotel near the gaming venue and the site of its hotel already under construction, and will renovate the existing structure into the first Live! Lofts boutique hotel.

On Sept. 13, the Cordish Companies broke ground on construction of a $200 million hotel on the casino property. The 350,000-square-foot complex will feature a 17-story hotel tower, making it the tallest building in Anne Arundel County, with 310 guest rooms, an event center, meeting spaces, new dining options, and a day spa/salon.

Live! Hotel and Live! Lofts are the first two hotels to carry the Live! moniker and round out The Cordish Companies’ portfolio to include both luxury and boutique hotel accommodations. Expansion of both brands is planned across the United States and internationally.

The highest revenue-generator among the state’s casinos last month was Maryland Live! Casino, which brought in $53.9 million from both slot machines and table games in September, an 8.8 percent increase from a year ago.