Get the strap!
It seems that 50 Cent, Mr. “I’ll See You In Court,” is on the opposite end of a costly lawsuit. And if proven guilty in court, the Queens mogul could be out a hefty bag.
E. Remy Martin & Co is suing the adult beverage brand created by Curtis Jackson, 50 Cent’s legal name.
According to Reuters, Sire Spirits (named after his youngest son), was sued in a Manhattan federal court on Friday, August 13.
And at the core of the filing is the infringement of “Remy Martin’s trade-dress and design-patent rights” that has distinguished its jewel-shaped glass cognac bottle from others in the market. It is believed that the 50’s Branson brand looks like their Centaure de Diamont.
Remy Martin, who notes that their XO cognac is America’s
second-best-selling cognac believes that 50’s company blatantly copied their bottle to ride their coattails, essentially asserting that the “Get Rich or Die Trying” rapper is a copycat competitor.
But is Fif really a copycat?
The French distiller believes so. The complaint shares that the Centaure de Diamant’s bottle shape is uniquely distinct with a “circular array of raised flat and angled quadrilateral facets.”
They also allege that they have invested “extensive advertising, promotion, and sales over the past 35 years,” and that having a competitor so similar is dangerous for their successful brand.
Reuters further notes that the complaint alleges that 50 and Sire (the business), “applied
for a design patent and federal trademark in 2019 and 2020, respectively, covering a similar bottle for their Branson cognac. Sire launched the Branson brand in 2018.”
Since 2020, the company has been selling the replicated bottle commercially with critics and consumers both noting how similar both bottles are.
Well, 50 doesn’t seem to care. He posted this on Twitter.
“Sioux falls, South Dakota i’m here it’s the Branson Take over f### Remy ! #bransoncognac
Sioux falls, South Dakota i’m here it’s the Branson Take over f**k Remy ! #bransoncognac #lecheminduroi pic.twitter.com/tSy7KgqZXC
— 50cent (@50cent) August 14, 2021
The case is E. Remy Martin & Co v. Sire Spirits LLC, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 1:21-cv-06838.
