Six members of the 1985 Chicago Bears have filed a lawsuit alleging they own their performances in the "Super Bowl Shuffle" video.
Attorneys filed the lawsuit Friday in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of Richard Dent, Steve Fuller, Willie Gault, Jim McMahon, Mike Richardson and Otis Wilson, all members of the 1985 Super Bowl championship team.
The former Bears say they own their identities, images, names, likenesses, voices and performances in the video, which attorney Walid J. Tamari said was created in part to give back to Chicago's neediest families.
“As the complaint states, among other things, the plaintiffs seek that a constructive trust be established for charitable purposes that they select in order to continue the Super Bowl Shuffle’s charitable objective,” Tamari said.
Tamari notes the video and song became a "mainstream phenomenon" that sold more than a half-million copies and even reached No. 41 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1985.
The video was released in September 1985, three months before Super Bowl XX.
The lawsuit was filed against Renaissance Marketing Corporation.
