Though it wasn’t an easy battle, it appears the war between Black Flag and FLAG has finally come to a close. In the wake of Ron Reyes’ firing from Black Flag, the biggest question that loomed would be the outcome of the lawsuit Greg Ginn filed against FLAG and former vocalist Henry Rollins. It appears that the court gave Ginn what was known to be his all along, as he and his label SST will retain the rights to all of Black Flag’s music, the band’s name, and logo.
This means that FLAG will no longer be able to use those iconic bars in its artwork or on show flyers. However, given it’s the line-up fans seem to prefer anyway, it’s a distinction that was more than clear beforehand. FLAG member Keith Morris and Rollins also forfeited any of their rights to using the logo, likely in hopes of bringing these proceedings to an end.
It remains to be seen what will become of FLAG, but with Black Flag having instituted Mike Vallely as its new singer, that leaves the door open for plenty of more new material from the band—no matter if anyone else wants it or not.