Future is facing legal trouble after a Minnesota-based company filed a lawsuit alleging he improperly used a trademarked “Limo-Jet” in a music video and caused damage to the custom-made vehicle.
The trademarked car is a jet fuselage repurposed as a luxury limousine and was featured in a 2024 music video for the song “Arabi.”
The suit, brought by MIK Corporation, claims that the rapper, Egyptian entertainer Mohammed Ramadan and Lebanese-Canadian singer Sari Abboud used it in the video without proper permission.
MIK, which owns the trademark for Limo-Jet and rents the vehicle for events, alleges that the rappers filmed the vehicle without proper consent despite earlier agreements preventing such usage.
According to documents obtained by AllHipHop, Ramadan and his associates first contacted MIK in April 2023, inquiring about possibly using the Limo-Jet at shows in California and Dubai.
Their discussions led to them visiting a Des Plaines, Illinois lot, where the Limo-Jet was stored.
During the visit, they reportedly agreed not to release photographs or footage of the vehicle without MIK’s approval and not to damage the vehicle.
Things started going south when they arrived to look at the unique vehicle. MIK alleges the Limo-Jet’s signature custom paint job was scuffed during the April visit.
The company claims it was blindsided in February 2024 when the music video for “Arabi” premiered on YouTube featuring multiple shots of the Limo-Jet.
The video was a hit, racking up over 53 million views as of press time.
The lawsuit includes claims of breach of contract, negligence, fraud, and misappropriation.
MIK is pursuing damages for both the unauthorized commercial use of the Limo-Jet and the alleged harm caused to the vehicle.
Universal Music Group (UMG), a co-defendant in the lawsuit, recently moved to dismiss the case, citing a lack of personal jurisdiction in Illinois.
While MIK’s amended complaint argued that Ramadan acted as UMG’s agent, the court ruled that the connection between the two was too tenuous to establish the jurisdiction necessary to keep UMG in the case.
The court dismissed the claims against UMG, granting MIK an opportunity to amend its allegations before the December 15 deadline.
The courts also questioned whether the remaining defendants, besides Future’s affiliated company, Wilburn Holding Co., had been properly served.
MIK, which has until mid-December to address these issues, faces the potential dismissal of those defendants if service deadlines are missed; Future and his company will be on the hook regardless.