The German Federal Patent Court has published the headnote of its SCORPIONS decision (case reference 33 W (pat) 526/10 of 5 April 2011) relating to the use of the name of a well-known music group on t-shirts and other merchandise clothing.  

The court held that consumers will perceive a trade mark which corresponds with the name of a well-known band (here: SCORPIONS) and which is affixed on merchandise articles of the clothing/apparel industry (also) as an indication of the trade origin of these goods. This will apply, even where the word sign is only shown on the front or the back of the clothing, such as a t-shirt, and/or where the dominating word sign ((here: SCORPIONS) is accompanied by reference to concert venues and/or concert dates.

The German Federal Patent Court advance publication of the headnote can be retrieved here.  The decision can be retrieved by clicking here (published on 23 August 2011)