American rock band Eagles filed a lawsuit against the owners of a Mexico hotel called “Hotel California”, which is also the title of the band’s most famous song, Reuters reported on Tuesday. In a complaint filed late on Monday, the band said the owners of the 11-room Todos Santos hotel in Baja California Sur “actively encouraged” guests to believe the hotel was associated with the band, in order to sell T-shirts and other merchandise.
The band also noted that the defendant, Hotel California Baja LLC, had applied with the US Patent and Trademark Office to register the Hotel California name. “Defendants lead US consumers to believe that the Todos Santos Hotel is associated with Eagles and, among other things, served as the inspiration for the lyrics in Hotel California, which is false,” the complaint said.
The lawsuit filed in a Los Angeles federal court seeks a variety of damages and a halt to any infringement.
Hotel California is the title track from Eagles’ album of the same name and was released as a single in February 1977. The song is arguably the most famous recording of the band, and its long guitar coda is believed to be the best guitar solo of all time.
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