A feud has erupted within the first family of reggae, with the widow and nine children of Bob Marley suing his half brother to stop use of the Marley name to promote an annual Miami music festival and profit from other businesses in his native Jamaica.
The lawsuit filed on Thursday in the US federal court contends the half brother, businessman Richard Booker, and several affiliated companies are violating copyright and trademark laws by using Marley's name, photographs, lyrics, symbols and other intellectual property without authorisation.
The lawsuit says people could be deceived into thinking those uses are officially endorsed by Marley's widow, Rita Marley, and their children.
Booker and Bob Marley shared the same mother.
The entities include the Bob Marley Movement of Jah People Inc, which promotes the music festival, a restaurant in Jamaica called Mama Marley's and several businesses with the name Nine Mile - the part of Jamaica where Marley grew up and is now buried. One Nine Mile business offers a tour of the area, and the music event is known as the Nine Mile Music Festival.