 In retaliation against Clarke 's trademark application , McGuinn , Crosby and Hillman submitted their own counter @-@ claim to gain ownership of the band 's name . McGuinn had actually attempted to trademark the Byrds name himself during the 1970s , in order to prevent its misuse , but his application had been turned down . To strengthen their case , the three musicians announced in December 1988 that they would be performing a series of concerts in January 1989 as the Byrds . Although he was no longer connected with Clarke 's tribute act , Gene Clark was not invited to participate in these official Byrds reunion concerts due to residual ill @-@ feeling stemming from his earlier " 20th Anniversary Tribute to The Byrds " . 
