Indie-pop Duo "The Twigs" Sues FKA Twigs, Seeks to Bar Her From Performing Under the Name

Indie-pop duo The Twigs sues FKA Twigs back, seeking to ban her from performing under the name

May 13, 2026 By Mandy Dalugdug

FKA Twigs in March filed a complaint in the Southern District of New York, seeking a court declaration that her stage name does not infringe the trademark rights of an American indie-pop duo called The Twigs.

Now, the indie-pop duo that registered the trademark “The Twigs” in 1996 has filed counterclaims against FKA Twigs , escalating a dispute that now threatens the British artist’s ability to perform under any variation of the name she has used throughout her career.

Twin sisters Laura and Linda Good , who have performed as The Twigs since 1994, filed their answer and counterclaims on Monday (May 11) in the same court, according to a filing, which you can read here . They are seeking a permanent injunction to bar FKA Twigs, born Tahliah Barnett , from using “FKA Twigs,” “Twigs,” or any “confusingly similar designation for live or recorded musical performances” and other goods or services.

They also want the court to block her pending US trademark application. The Twigs’ lawyers said: “[Barnett’s] U.S. Trademark Application … for FKA TWIGS, filed December 21, 2023 , published June 24, 2025 , in Classes 25, 35, and 41, should be refused because THE TWIGS has priority and is confusingly similar for overlapping Class 41 services.”

The duo is also seeking damages including punitive damages under New York common law.

The case dates back to a 2013 email exchange that both sides cite in their arguments. In June of that year, Barnett wrote to the Good sisters acknowledging their prior claim: “I appreciate that you’ve been releasing music and performing as The Twigs a lot longer than I have been Twigs so I thought I should reach out and say hi and check that you are ok with it.”

Five days later, the duo responded that their trademark prohibited Barnett from using any derivation of the name. They told Barnett that they “own the U.S. Trademark for the name ‘The Twigs’ for use in music and entertainment…So we are sorry, but unfortunately the law dictates that we are not ok with you using the name ‘Twigs’ or any derivation thereof.”

“You are obviously very creative and we are sure you will come up with something that is yours alone and that will allow you to freely promote your music all over the world. Wishing you the best of luck in your endeavors,” according to the Good sisters’ 2013 email to Barnett.

Barnett allegedly offered them $15,000 for a “co-existence agreement.” The Twigs declined that offer and urged Barnett to use a different mark to promote her music, according to the lawsuit.

Despite that exchange, Barnett continued performing as “Twigs” before shifting to “FKA Twigs” later in 2013 . The Good sisters filed a lawsuit in California in April 2014 , seeking an emergency injunction to stop a Los Angeles concert.

“Having subjected Barnett to that patently frivolous litigation exercise and expense, Defendants then filed a voluntary notice of dismissal of their case and claims, and took no further action; they simply disappeared,” according to Barnett’s lawsuit in March, which you can read in full here .

According to the Good sisters’ lawsuit, they lost the immediate relief they requested and decided to voluntarily dismiss their trademark infringement claims.

Barnett’s lawyers argued that for about 10 years after the concert, “Defendants neither contacted Barnett nor challenged her use of FKA TWIGS, fully acquiescing to such use such that Defendants are barred from asserting claims of likelihood of confusion or trademark infringement related to their THE TWIGS marks.”

> “Defendants neither contacted Barnett nor challenged her use of FKA TWIGS, fully acquiescing to such use such that Defendants are barred from asserting claims of likelihood of confusion or trademark infringement related to their THE TWIGS marks.” FKA Twigs’ complaint (march)

In their May 11 countersuit, the Good sisters’ lawyers wrote: “Having lost the immediate relief they requested, and lacking the financial resources of Barnett and her record label and financial backers, The Twigs voluntarily dismissed without prejudice their trademark infringement claims about four days later, thereby reserving the right to pursue legal action against Barnett for future infringement of Defendants’ trademark rights.”

From 2014 to 2024 , the sisters say they monitored Barnett’s conduct in the US music marketplace, but did not litigate.

> “Having lost the immediate relief they requested, and lacking the financial resources of Barnett and her record label and financial backers, The Twigs voluntarily dismissed without prejudice their trademark infringement claims about four days later, thereby reserving the right to pursue legal action against Barnett for future infringement of Defendants’ trademark rights.” The Twigs’ countersuit (may)

“Counterclaim-Plaintiffs have never made any statement to Barnett or her representatives at any time that they would not exercise their rights against Barnett if necessary to protect them,” their lawyers wrote.

Their position changed in December 2023 when Barnett filed a US trademark application for “FKA Twigs” in multiple classes including Class 41, which covers entertainment services, the same class in which The Twigs hold their own The Twigs mark registration.

When the US Patent and Trademark Office issued an office action letter citing The Twigs’ Class 9 registration as a conflict, Barnett deleted her Class 9 application instead of contesting the refusal, “thereby effectively conceding that ‘FKA Twigs’ is confusingly similar to THE TWIGS® in goods and services covered by Class 9,” according to the sisters’ lawsuit.

Barnett then continued pursuing Class 41 registration.

The countersuit argues that Barnett’s actions have caused “reverse confusion and recent progressive encroachment, and ongoing public confusion and misattribution.”

The Twigs also pointed to the public reaction when FKA Twigs’ lawsuit became news in March, citing messages telling them to “leave FKA twigs alone,” accusing the Good sisters of suing a “real artist” even though Barnett, and not The Twigs, started the litigation.

The filing also highlighted Barnett’s appearance before a US Senate subcommittee in April 2024 , where she appeared behind a nameplate reading “Twigs” and testified about developing an “AI Twigs.”

“Barnett explained that she caused the creation of her own deepfake clone named ‘AI Twigs’ to handle online media interactions with music fans and journalists, again without the ‘FKA’ prefix she had agreed to use to identify herself in 2013 ,” the Good sisters added in their countersuit.

The Twigs also noted in the lawsuit that Barnett started using “Twigs” to promote her music as early as 2022 in interviews promoting her Caprisongs mixtape.

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FKA Twigs files lawsuit against indie duo in trademark dispute, following seven-figure demand for ‘co-existence’

_Originally reported by [Music Business Worldwide](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/indie-pop-duo-the-twigs-sues-fka-twigs-back-seeking-to-ban-her-from-performing-under-the-name/)._