NEW YORK, NY.- Years of disputes over control of the legacy of the Ramones escalated this month when the brother of Joey Ramone sued the widow of Johnny Ramone, accusing her of trademark infringement, trademark dilution and breach of contract.

Joey Ramone’s brother, Mickey Leigh, and Johnny Ramone’s widow, Linda Cummings-Ramone, each control 50% of Ramones Productions, the company that holds the punk band’s intellectual property rights. Joey Ramone, its lead vocalist, died in 2001, and Johnny Ramone, the guitarist, in 2004.

In the lawsuit, Mickey Leigh, whose legal name is Mitchel Hyman, accuses Cummings-Ramone of improperly exploiting the band’s legacy — often in sharply personal terms — and leveraging its intellectual property “for her own fame and vanity.”

Cummings-Ramone had sued Hyman in January, accusing him of wrongfully developing a Ramones biopic without her approval. That case is pending.

Alan Fisch, a veteran intellectual properties litigator, said Cummings-Ramone’s ownership stake in Ramones Productions did not necessarily grant her control over its intellectual assets.

“Just because she owns half of the business doesn’t mean she has an unfettered right to use its intellectual property,” he said. “That each of the two shareholders have different views is part of the challenge that they’ve created for themselves in being 50% owners.”

The rivalry between Hyman and Cummings-Ramone in some ways mirrors the famously chilly relationship between Joey and Johnny Ramone. Before she began dating Johnny Ramone, Cummings-Ramone, a philanthropist and model, was in a multiyear relationship with Joey Ramone.

Hyman and Cummings-Ramone’s clash reached an inflection point in 2018, when he took her to arbitration over the usage of Ramones trademarks in an annual tribute event for Johnny Ramone. Hyman also objected to Cummings-Ramone’s adoption of the name “Linda Ramone,” which he said falsely portrayed her as the “keeper of the legacy” of the group. (The last name “Ramone” was a pseudonym and not the legal name of any member of the band.)

Representatives for Cummings-Ramone did not respond to a request for comment. Karen Winner, a consultant for Hyman, said in a statement that Cummings-Ramone’s decision to use the name had long caused confusion among fans.

“Unfortunately she has expanded her use of the name, which is problematic not only for Joey Ramone and Ramones, but for their fans,” Winner said.

When the arbitrator ruled on the disputes between the Ramone relatives, he expressed frustration with their frequent battles.

“Mickey Hyman and Linda Cummings-Ramone have an almost sacred mission to be the caretakers for the band’s creative work, to protect their iconic brand and to educate new fans in order to grow their legend,” he wrote. “Instead, the parties have allowed their personal egos and their animus for one another to interfere with their joint obligations.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.