By Ismael AbduSalaam
Hip-Hop mogul Jay-Z and Iconix Brand Group, owner of Rocawear Clothing, are being sued in federal court on copyright infringement charges.
The case was filed last Thursday (September 18) in Georgia Northern District Court by I Will Not Lose, LLC, a company claiming that Iconix Brand Group and Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, adopted the exact same “I Will Not Lose” trademark.
Last March, Jay-Z sold the rights for Rocawear to Iconix Brand Group for $204 million.
Despite this, Carter is also named in the suit as it is believed by the plaintiff that he continues to oversee the product development, licensing, and marketing of Rocawear.
Last year, Rocawear launched an international “I Will Not Lose Campaign,” (www.iwillnotlose.org) where stars such as Chris Brown and Ciara gave accounts of how they overcame personal challenges before reciting the trademarked phrase “I Will Not Lose.”
I Will Not Lose, LLC (www.iwillnotlose.net) CEO Reggie Tucker alleges in the lawsuit that his company trademarked the brand first and were subsequently ignored throughout 2007 after attempts were made to settle the matter out of court.
The plaintiff is seeking an undisclosed amount of damages for the dilution of their trademark.
At press time calls to attorneys representing I Will Not Lose, LLC were not returned and Jay-Z could not be reached for comment.