What hath Kravis wrought? Las Vegas’ Elvis-themed wedding industry is all shook up, after a series of cease and desist letters were issued at the behest of Authentic Brands Group. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, ABG controls the King’s merchandising as well as trademarks on “Elvis, “Elvis Presley,” “and “The King of Rock and Roll.” The letter told multiple wedding chapels that Elvis weddings were unauthorized in using “Presley’s name, likeness, voice image, and other elements of Elvis Presley’s persona in advertisements, merchandise and otherwise,” and that if they did not stop by May 27, they would be seeking legal action. “This could be very damaging to our industry,” Melody Willis-Williams, president of Vegas Weddings and Viva Las Vegas Weddings, told the R-J. “Most of us are small businesses, and we’re up against a superpower with a lot of money. It could kill us in lawyer fees to fight this.”
Elvis weddings have been synonymous with Vegas since Viva Las Vegas, in which Elvis has a Vegas wedding. So why now? Did ABG object to the fake wedding that Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker had after the Grammys? Maybe with the Baz Luhrmann biopic rearing its kaleidoscopic head, ABG felt it was time to protect its investment. Regardless of why, ABG has decided the time has come to TCB.