What's in a rock band's name?

Plenty, if you are talking about Jefferson Starship, which goes back more than 40 years, has had more than 30 members and was born from the Jefferson Airplane.

Craig Chaquico, a founding member of Jefferson Starship and the only musician to perform on all 10 of their albums, on Aug. 11 secured from U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James in San Francisco a decision greenlighting a cause of action of what his lawyers said was the core claim over use of the legendary band name.

The ruling came in a lawsuit initiated by Chaquico in April for breach of contract and unfair business practices, and seeking an injunction to stop the band from using the Jefferson Starship name and his likeness.

James ruled that he could pursue his breach of contract claim against multi-instrumentalist David Freiberg and drummer Donny Baldwin who have played with the band since the 70s and 80s respectively for performance and merchandising revenues taken in since January 2016, when the band's co-founder, Paul Kantner, died.

But the judge dismissed his claim for earlier contract breaches and rejected a trademark infringement claim over the use of his likeness in promotional materials, such as in T-shirts or posters designed to help sell tickets, even though he wouldn't be performing.

"We are thrilled that the court rejected defendants' statute of limitations argument and allowed Mr. Chaquico to proceed with his core claim against David Freiberg and Donny Baldwin for their unauthorized and improper use of the name Jefferson Starship in violation of their written agreement to not do so," said Chaquico's attorney David W. Swift, a partner at Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert.

James left the door open for Chaquico to pursue the trademark issue with new evidence and a reframed argument, and Swift confirmed Monday that was the plan.

"Plaintiff's allegations that defendants' use of his likeness violates the Lanham Act are merely conclusory," James wrote in her ruling. "The court therefore dismisses his Lanham Act claim. However, as there is nothing to suggest plaintiff cannot allege the required facts, the court grants him leave to amend to give him an opportunity to do so."

Robert Allen, a principal in McKool Smith's Los Angeles office and veteran of the music industry wars who recently helped Quincy Jones win his $9.4 million award from Michael Jackson's estate, saw that as a positive for Chaquico's case.

"I think what you see here is a procedural hiccup rather than a rejection of the claim," said Allen. "The judge is in effect saying I see what you're saying, but you've got to back it up with evidence, and I think you can."