A judge denied Future’s request to dismiss a lawsuit over his High Off Life album’s title.
Future will face trademark infringement claims after being sued by another rapper, who owns a company named High Off Life.
The diamond-selling artist asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed based on First Amendment protections, but Judge W. Scott Hardy determined such a ruling would be premature.
“Although Defendants cite various cases in which a court granted a motion to dismiss Lanham Act claims by applying Rogers, as one court has observed, ‘consideration of the Rogers defense on a motion to dismiss appears to be the exception, not the rule,’” Hardy wrote. “In this instance, even if the Court were to accept Defendants’ invitation to apply the Rogers framework as a valid defense to HOL’s claims, the Court concludes that a motion to dismiss is not the appropriate stage in this litigation to address the applicability of the First Amendment defense.”
Future argued that his use of High Off Life met the standards of the Rogers Test, which allows the title of an artistic work to be protected from the Lanham Act. It must have artistic relevance and not be arbitrarily chosen to receive First Amendment protection from the Lanham Act, which prohibits trademark infringement.
“While the Album would appear to qualify as a work of artistic expression subject to the Rogers framework, it is unclear whether Rogers is applicable to the Alleged Infringing Goods, particularly given that the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has expressed doubt as to its applicability beyond the title of a work of artistic expression,” Judge Hardy noted. “Accordingly, further factual development of the record relative to the nature of the Alleged Infringing Goods will aid in ultimately resolving this issue.”
Future claimed he deliberately selected High Off Life for a title since it reflected the content of the album. But Judge Hardy said this hasn’t been clearly established as a fact, leading him to allow the case to proceed.
“Despite Defendants’ assertions, at this stage, the Court has no evidence concerning Future’s intent in choosing the Album’s title or that the Album is a product of Future’s reflection on his life and recognition of his good fortune,” he wrote in his ruling. “Contrary to Defendants’ suggestion, it is not readily apparent from the song titles Defendants cite (Touch the Sky, Hard to Choose One, Trillionaire, Too Comfortable, Accepting My Flaws and Life is Good), that the Album title ‘High Off Life’ is artistically relevant to the content of the Album. Rather, Defendants’ arguments are factual contentions that must be balanced against HOL’s allegations, and therefore are better addressed at the summary judgment stage.”
Future released his High Off Life album in 2020. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The company suing him has been using the name for well over a decade.
High Off Life’s founder Zach Richards, who raps under the name Phene, began using the mark in 2004. He’s been selling High Off Life branded apparel and merchandise since 2009.
