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Pharrell Williams and will.i.am in legal battle.
RnB/Hip Hop | Wednesday 3rd July 2013 | Matt
On June 26th Black Eyed Pea’s rapper and producer will.i.am sent a ‘cease and desist’ letter to Pharrell in regards to his latest ‘I am OTHER’ project ; a new YouTube channel launched by Pharrell earlier this year. It would appear that will.i.am believes he owns the rights to all trademarks using the ‘I AM’ mark and that Pharrell’s use of the slogan is likely to dilute his ‘will.i.am’ brand.
It seems, however, that super producer and N.E.R.D member Pharell Williams does not seem phased by the legal action and has responded with a counter suit claiming that his use of the words is entirely different. He argues that will.i.am’s uses the phrase in a manner similar to that of children’s author Dr. Seuss, quoting ‘Sam I am. I am Sam’ from Seuss’s ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ in his legal submissions.
Williams’’ lawsuit continues to state that “In contrast, The 'I am OTHER' mark means ‘I am something else’, leaving what that ‘else’ is to the imagination of the consumer.” It then states that “It certainly does not mean ‘I am Will’”
What do you think of the legal debacle? Do you think will.i.am has the right to be annoyed and to submit the ‘cease and desist’ notice or is he being ridiculous as it is obvious Pharrell’s ‘I am’ mark is entirely unrelated and will have no impact on will.i.am’s brand at all? Let us know in the comments below.
Written by
Matt Watkins
