The general rule is, the name of a Band belongs in equal share to the musicians who made the Band famous and they don’t lose their entitlement to whatever benefits that might bring in the future, just because they leave the Band.
To explain how this works. I am going to refer to a fictitious band which I am calling “Litigation”.
In our case “Litigation” consists of four guys that got together and had 4 top 10 hits 30 years ago.
Thirty years ago, when the band was on Top Of The Pops, The band’s name “Litigation” was clearly owned jointly by the four members. Each having a quarter share.
Over the next ten years, two of the band members leave and the remaining two members of the original “litigation” find a replacements and carry on performing as “litigation” without new hit record. There claim to fame doesn’t change, what draws the paying public to see them is still dependant on the previous four hit records. So who now owns the Band name “Litigation”?
The original four members still own it in equal share. It isn’t the case of it belongs to the last man standing.
There are many deals made in the development and promotion of a Band, but if you are a contributing member of a hit making Band, you don’t lose your proportional share in the value of the Name, unless you deliberately sign it away.
It is not a valid argument to say you have been performing as the band “Litigation” for over 10 years and the crowd love you. If Mona Lisa hanging in the Louvre Museum was found to be a fake, it would make no difference if millions of people had been taken in by it and admired it for years. It would still be a fake and to continue advertising it as the genuine article would be an offence
Also, you can’t take over the name of a band, just because they have stopped performing, squatters rights don’t apply.
So Who Owns the name of Band?