How the 1987 Court Ruling Let Pink Floyd Keep Its Name Without Roger Waters

When Roger Waters quit Pink Floyd in 1985, he declared the band “a spent force” and tried to stop David Gilmour and Nick Mason from ever using the name again. Waters filed a lawsuit in the High Court of Justice in London, arguing that the group was a partnership that had dissolved upon his departure, so the remaining members had no right to carry on as Pink Floyd.

The judge didn’t buy it. In a 1987 ruling, the court decided that Pink Floyd was not a legal partnership but a “business name” that belonged to the entire company, Pink Floyd Music Ltd. The ruling meant Gilmour and Mason—along with keyboardist Richard Wright, who rejoined during the A Momentary Lapse of Reason sessions—could legally continue recording and touring as Pink Floyd. Waters’ attempt to kill the band failed.

The settlement later allowed Waters to retain exclusive rights to The Wall concept and certain imagery, but the core decision was clear: the name stayed with the remaining members. That single judgment let Pink Floyd survive as a touring and recording act for another three decades, turning the 1980s feud into the defining legal moment of the band’s history.