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20 March 2014Trademarks

Jay-Z accused of ignoring $600 million lawsuit

Shaun “Jay-Z” Carter has been accused of ignoring a $600 million trademark lawsuit issued to him and others over the use of the ‘Brooklyn Nets’ logo.

Francois de Cassagnol, of the Dr. Cassagnol Institute of Research in New York, filed a complaint in December 2013 alleging trademark infringement against the rapper, the national basketball association (NBA) and Bruce Ratner, the minority owner of basketball team the Brooklyn Nets.

Jay-Z, better known for his musical career, has embarked upon a series of entrepreneurial adventures including a brief minority ownership of the defunct New Jersey Nets. In 2012 the struggling basketball franchise moved to its new home in Brooklyn, becoming the Brooklyn Nets.

Court documents released show that de Cassagnol trademarked the term ‘Brooklyn Nets Entertainment Logo’ with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in 2012.

A publisher, de Cassagnol now claims he has had no response following his complaint in January. He claims “Mr. Carter was in full default” and has requested the court respond by serving him with a certificate of default, an official acknowledgement that a defendant has failed to respond to legal claims.

He also cites alleged assurances from the NBA and New Jersey Nets officials before the club moved home that they would not use the term ‘Brooklyn Nets’.

Rebranding efforts by Jay-Z and his co-owners involved altering the team colours to black and white and creating a new logo.

Neither the NBA nor Jay-Z have commented yet.

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