It's official. There was already a band called Supernova before Tommy Lee and his posse decided to put together a summer reality series supergroup. And tonight, after the group picks its lead singer, it's got to pick a new band name to comply with a court order.

Ten years ago, before there was Google, it was pretty easy to wind up with a band name that someone else was already using. The rule of thumb was that the first band that made it to (at least) regional prominence would end up keeping the name. Now, you'd better run a web and a trademark search for any band name before you start printing up merchandise.

Previously: band name ideas here and here...

UPDATE (9/18/06): According to reliable sources, the band's name change is complete. Like London Suede and UK Squeeze before them, Supernova (The Tommy Lee Project) will add a prefix and now be known as "Rock Star: Supernova." Which will save them a tremendous amount of money on repainting the tour bus.

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