50 Cent claims spirits brand Remy Martin is attempting to ruin his cognac business.
In August, Remy Cointreau filed a lawsuit against 50’s company Sire Spirits. Remy claims 50 Cent’s brand Branson Cognac willfully and blatantly copied their bottle design from XO Cognac.
“No brand or company has the right to exclude others from making or selling curved bottles for cognac or other alcohol,” 50 Cent lawyer Reena Jain explained. “Nonetheless, Remy Martin is on a mission to eliminate Sire Spirits from the cognac market.”
50 Cent founded Sire Spirits in 2014 when he did a deal with Beam Suntory to market the EFFEN brand of vodka.
After his success with EFFEN, 50 founded two subsidiaries – Sire Champagnes to market his champagne brand Le Chemin du Roi and Sire Brown, which created the Branson Cognac brand.
50 says he was inspired to design his bottle based on canteens used by soldiers during the Civil War. The rapper also wanted to create a bottle that would reflect light from all angles.
After the design for his bottle was completed, 50 Cent says he filed trademarks for the “Branson Bottle” on February 6th, 2020, with The United States Patent and Trademark Office with no opposition.
According to 50 Cent’s legal team, the lawsuit has nothing to do with the bottle – and everything to do with competition.
They claim Remy Martin has been targeting 50 Cent’s brand with meritless claims since the beginning of the year.
In France, Remy Martin filed a lawsuit against Sire Spirits’ bottler Cognac Embouteillage. In April of 2021, Remy Martin finally filed a notice of opposition with the USPTO over the rapper’s bottle design.
But 50’s lawyers say that not one of Remy Martin’s designs is similar to his Branson Bottle, let alone substantially identical.
The rapper’s team says Remy Martin’s complaint fails to state any claim for willful patent infringement and is nothing but meritless litigation to destroy a competitor financially.
“Remy Martin’s efforts to monopolize the cognac market and draw spirits into a multi-front legal battle in order to force an exorbitant settlement should not be allowed to continue,” Reena Jain said.
50 Cent is asking for Remy Martin’s lawsuit against Branson Cognac to be dismissed with prejudice and he also wants a judge to make the company pay the legal bills he has incurred.
