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Klingklang is the name of the studio German krautrock icons Kraftwerk have operated out of for more than three decades, as well as the name of the quartet's publishing and merchandise companies (and one of their tunes, too).

Kling Klang are a group of krautrock-indebted music-makers from Liverpool who are signed to Mogwai's Rock Action label and who are opening for Portishead on their current European tour.

Both, when translated into English from the German idiom, more or less mean "ding dong."

Kraftwerk's love for their Klingklang is notorious; as, we suspect, is Kling Klang's love for their band name of nearly a decade. The two entities had coexisted peacefully since the British band's inception in the late 1990s. That is, until now.

Allegedly, Kraftwerk have issued a cease and desist order against Kling Klang, claiming trademark infringement. A statement thought to have been circulated on Kling Klang's behalf regarding the matter made the rounds on the internet prematurely, and it wasn't until late last week that Kling Klang posted an official dispatch on the on their MySpace. (The full text of the statement can be read after the jump.)

Kraftwerk, however, could not be reached for comment. Thus, all we know of the situation thus far comes from Kling Klang's side. Kraftwerk has not confirmed that they did, in fact, issue a cease and desist. Perhaps this is all an elaborate prank? We hope so.

In other Kraftwerk news, over the weekend, many readers emailed Pitchfork News expressing surprise that founding member Florian Schneider was not in attendance at the group's shows in Minneapolis on Saturday and Milwaukee on Sunday. It turns out Schneider will be absent from the entirety of Kraftwerk's current U.S. trek, including their performance at Coachella on April 26. A replacement is filling in for him. No explanation has been given for Schneider's absence.

Statement from Kling Klang:

This is the first and only official statement of the UK band Kling Klang regarding news of possible legal action being taken against the band by Kraftwerk. Any previously quoted statements cannot have been issued by the band, who currently have no official management.

In Cologne on Sunday 6th April the UK band Kling Klang were issued with a document by representatives of Messrs. Ralf Hütter & Florian Schneider of the German band Kraftwerk. The document is an order to cease and desist using the name "Kling Klang" as the name of the group. Since Messrs. Hütter & Schneider own the trademark "Klingklang" (the name of Kraftwerk's studio, and publishing/merchandising companies), they feel that use of the term "Kling Klang" as a band name is an infringement of their trademark rights.

While aware of Kraftwerk's utilisation of the term as a single word, the band Kling Klang arrived at their name by way of an onomatopoeic reference to a guitar improvisation of binary structure. "Klang" is a German word for "sound", "kling" means "bell", thus "kling klang" means literally "bell-sound" and can be used in the same way as the English term "ding-dong". The term (as two words) appears to be in popular usage in more than one language, and the band in no way thought they would be infringing upon the trademark rights of Messrs. Hütter and Schneider in utilising this term as a name for their group. No disrespect or plagiarism was intended, nor was there any intent to confuse audiences or to in some way capitalise on Kraftwerk's legacy. The music of the group Kling Klang, while influenced to some degree by Kraftwerk (as so many musicians have been), sounds very different and has [its] own original elements as well as many other influences.

The band have used the name Kling Klang without incident for a number of years and did not anticipate becoming well-known enough for their name to matter. However, the band completely understand Kraftwerk's concerns in protecting their trademark. Kling Klang hold Kraftwerk in the highest esteem as inspirational musicians and hope to resolve this matter quickly and amicably.

Any previously published statements which purport to represent the band's opinions or indicate their intentions should be disregarded.

Kraftwerk:

04-23 Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium
04-26 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella)

Kling Klang:

04-26 Wrexham, Wales - Old Swan
05-03 Brighton, England - Freebutt
05-05 Paris, France - Zenith *
05-06 Paris, France - Zenith *
05-07 Lyon, France - Nuits Sonores
05-08 Brussels, Belgium - Forest National
05-09 Dijon, France - L'Atheneum
05-11 Kortrijk, Belgium - Farmfest
05-15 London, England - Astoria #
08-09 Myslowice, Poland - TBA

* with Portishead
# with Ladytron