ABBA are suing UK tribute act ABBA MANIA.

The group filed papers on Friday describing the cover act’s behaviour as “parasitic and bad-faith”, insisting they have been intentionally misleading fans into believing that they are endorsed by the real group.

“Defendants include the term ‘official’ and ‘original’ in many of their marketing materials, website pages, and social media handles, which gives consumers the impression that there is some kind of association, affiliation, or sponsorship between ABBA and ABBA MANIA,” reads the filing (via Billboard).

“In an attempt to amicably resolve this dispute, [ABBA] explained how defendants could properly use the phrase ‘ABBA Tribute’ in a non-confusing manner to describe their tribute act so long as the actual name of the tribute act did not include the word ABBA,” the suit adds.

“But Defendants refused to comply and cease use of the name ABBA MANIA.”

The trademark infringement lawsuit has been filed in the US, where a tour of ABBA Mania shows kicked off in October.

While ABBA Mania have yet to publicly respond to the filing, their website does include the line, “ABBA Mania is no way associated, affiliated, or endorsed by Polar Music or ABBA”.

The Swedish group returned to the charts with their comeback album ‘Voyage’ – their first in 40 years – last month, with their new ‘Voyage’ show to open in London next spring. 

In a review of the album, Retro Pop called ‘Voyage’ “a fitting closing chapter in the tale of Sweden’s best-loved musical export”.

‘Voyage’ is available on CD, vinyl and cassette.