Led Zeppelin’s lawyers have filed last-minute paperwork aimed at keeping control of the US trademark for “The Led Zeppelin Experience”, the name of the band’s mysterious project which could be an exhibition, a hologram or even an archive of live recordings.
On July 14, lawyers representing the Jimmy Page-owned business Superhype Tapes filed a new trademark application in the US seeking to retain ownership of the brand name “The Led Zeppelin Experience”.
The trademark application covers “entertainment services” such as “live performances, road shows, live stage events, theatrical performances, live music concerts and audience participation in such events”. It also covers clothing sold using the brand name.
The application came two weeks before a US government deadline of July 29 which would have seen Led Zeppelin permanently lose control of the brand if it had not filed paperwork to retain a prior trademark registration.
Led Zeppelin’s decision to apply to retain its trademark suggests that “The Led Zeppelin Experience” project may not be dead after all, despite Page seemingly admitting in 2022 that it had come to a standstill.
As part of the trademark application, Led Zeppelin’s lawyers declared that the band has “a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce”, signalling The Led Zeppelin Experience could be staged in the future.
However, the band’s lawyers may simply be keeping control over the brand to prevent others using it or to avoid disrupting ongoing legal action.
Led Zeppelin referred to its ownership of “The Led Zeppelin Experience” US trademark in a lawsuit filed in Indiana on June 12 which is aimed at blocking the sale of counterfeit Led Zeppelin merchandise.
Led Zeppelin dropped new clues about The Led Zeppelin Experience
The 2025 trademark application includes new services that Led Zeppelin hadn’t previously sought to trademark the brand for when it originally applied to trademark it in 2017. These differences provide clues as to what “The Led Zeppelin Experience” could be.
The band is now seeking to own the brand for “webcasts” as well as “podcasts”. It also seeks to trademark the brand for “providing online non-downloadable videos” and for the publishing of books and magazines.
Led Zeppelin’s new trademark application seems to refer specifically to live events. The band’s lawyers wish to cover the “arranging and conducting of concerts” as well as “theater productions” and “live performances, road shows, live stage events, theatrical performances, live music concerts and audience participation in such events”.
The history of The Led Zeppelin Experience
Beginning in 2017, the three surviving members of Led Zeppelin and the estate of John Bonham were jointly involved in the planning of The Led Zeppelin Experience, which seems to have been a planned exhibition with a potential hologram component and potentially live recordings involved too.
The band filed a US trademark application for “The Led Zeppelin Experience” on November 2, 2017. Weeks later in December 2017, Jason Bonham changed the name of his band from “Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience” to “Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening”.
Bonham spoke to Billboard in 2018, explaining: “I got a letter from their attorney, who happens to be my attorney as well. As I read the first few lines I felt very upset,” Bonham said. “It was my wife who saved me from getting into a rage; I was about to group-dial Jimmy, John Paul and Robert and go ‘What the hell…!’ but she said ‘Read the rest.’ And I saw it wasn’t personal. They wanted to free up the terminology.”
The members of Led Zeppelin and Pat Bonham set up a UK business named Company 2018 in June 2018 which carries out “activities of exhibition and fair organisers”, according to Companies House filings. Each surviving band member and Bonham own 25% of the business.
Speaking in 2021 during an interview with Eddie Trunk, Bonham said that “there was something they were working on, which from the looks of what the news – just saw in the news the other day, it was possibly something similar to what Pink Floyd had done with the Pink Floyd Experience. I think they wanted the terminology, ‘Experience,’ to be able to do something like that, I guess.”
Speaking to Uncut Magazine for an interview published in its May 2022 issue, Page confirmed that Led Zeppelin had planned its own exhibition. “There was something at one point,” he said. “But all the members and people around the band couldn’t agree.”
Page has also confirmed that Led Zeppelin had been approached about a potential hologram of the band. Led Zeppelin was asked to do “that sort of thing”, Page said on stage at the Hay Festival in Wales in June 2022. However, he explained that the surviving band members couldn’t agree about the project so it “didn’t really get moving”.
Led Zeppelin also owns trademarks for “The Led Zeppelin Experience” in the UK and in Europe. They are due to expire in November 2027.
Company 2018, the UK business set up seemingly to manage the project, remains trading and continues to file accounts every year. However, the continued trading of the business doesn’t prove that the exhibition is still being worked on.
Three P Films, a UK business set up in 2011 to support the release of “Celebration Day”, remains active, as does P & P Touring which was incorporated in New York in 1994 to support Page and Robert Plant’s touring.
When I find those two
things in the same venue the word “Experience” and solid rock music of course I think of Jimi.
Without John Bonham’s drumming, it will be difficult to get the Zeppelin sound. Besides the fact we would love to see them play live music. I personally saw Led Zeppelin Live @ Los Angeles Fabulous Forum twice in early seventies. Great performances. I will always have a great memory of.
Moderation? Don’t change my statement. I wrote the words I wanted to use. Thanks. David L. Hicklin
Meh….
Why doesn’t led zeppelin reunite with Jason Bonham as the drummer? I saw led zep three times in the 70s and I saw Jason Bonham in concert and I believe he could fill in for his father very well! Oh yeah, I’m a drummer with 57 years experience!
It’s because Plant doesn’t want to be seen struggling with high notes and dropping keys. I don’t blame him, either. He does fine on his own and doesn’t have to sing crazy high anymore. They had their moment and it was amazing but there’s no way to recreate it without being disappointing.
When are people like you going to learn? Page is in his 80s and is arthritic. NO BONZO NO ZEPPELIN.
When are people like you going to learn? Page is in his 80s and is arthritic. NO BONZO NO ZEPPELIN.
imagine a 2025 led zeppelin jones on is keyboards doing is classic stuff plant standing at the mike doing the odd shuffle reminding fans that its 2025 not 1973 page will after borrow ozzy bat chair as hes hardly performed for anywhere near two hours for over 20 years and to knacked to stand up and strum one note on is guitar as is fingers are all f up and to save the night jason bonham will after do is own version of moby dick for about two hours to save the night
From what I understand the remaining members feel it would be disrespectful and it wouldn’t be Zeppelin without John. I’ve heard rumors that Plant told Jason that he lived him but it was the personalities of the original members that comprised Zeppelin and I think that’s awesome. I’ll admit that Jason could very well sit in for his father as Jason is incredible and an awesome person as well but it wouldn’t be Zeppelin. And yes there is there age thing as well now but I think it’s more the remaining members just feel that it’s not quite Zeppelin without John. As much as I would love to see them tour with Jason I think they would be right in not doing so using the name LED Zeppelin. I love Led Zeppelin and literally grew up with them and love Jason as well and just thank them all for sharing their talent and incredible music with the world.
It was sad watching Stones last year . No Led Zep reunion please. Respect their wishes.
yes, its done, a long time ago, I can remember being at the C.N.E 1980 getting the news, and knowing then that my chance to see them was gone, their albums are magnificent and ear buds are fantastic, plug in and listen their music has been remastered to perfection, so plug in and go on the journey of how it was then..I love it.
There will be NO Led Zeppelin reunion. EVER. Page can’t play anymore, Plant couldn’t be less interested, Jones is indifferent and Bonham is dead. And that’s before we get to the utterly inept mismanaging of the Led Zeppelin brand over the last 15 or so years. Sometimes I think the guys themselves want the band to be forgotten.
I had hoped for a reunion tour since 1980, but realistically they are just too old at this point to do a great Led Zeppelin show, much less a whole tour. If it was going to happen, then 2007 when they did one concert would have been the time. Plant was already going in a different direction though with Allison Krauss, and I love his newer stuff. I saw several Page/Plant shows in the 90’s. That’s as close as I’ll get to seeing Zeppelin.