Fashion houses rarely stay out of the news, especially when it comes to IP related matters. Recently the English luxury fashion house Burberry sued rapper and music producer Burberry Perry (real name Perry Moise). Can anyone take the hint, why Mr. Perry was sued? Yes, it’s a no-brainer, for trademark infringement and dilution. Besides using the name of the fashion label as a part of his stage name, the rapper also used Burberry’s trademark check print and the equestrian logo for the promotion of his album titled “BURBERRY PERRY”. The lawsuit was filed last Tuesday in the Southern District of New York. The fashion brand stated that the rapper had adopted the said name to ride on the fame and popularity of the established name and goodwill of the brand for promotion of his album, to trigger more sales and to expand his fan base.
In a lawsuit filed by the fashion label, they have prayed for immediate injunctive relief asking the rapper/producer to drop the stage name and/or other association with the brand. The primary reason why Burberry is objecting to such use of its brand name and mark is because of the considerable association of music with the brand. In 2010, Burberry launched Burberry Acoustic a digital platform to showcase emerging new talent. Furthermore, it also became the first global brand to have dedicated channel on Apple Music which features both promising new talent as well as established artists. Due to Burberry’s clear expansion and diversification into music, the label felt that it would lead to confusion amongst the consumers while searching for music on outlets such as Apple Music.
Besides this it was also reported that the artists, Perry Moise or Burberry Perry was set to release new music in August and September and head on a music tour in US and Canada.
The case is not really unheard of. There have been numerous instances like this. However, the amusing part of it all was the reaction or the aftermath of the lawsuit. Not too long after the lawsuit, Moise Perry made the announcement on Twitter that he was changing his name from BURBERRY PERRY” to “THE GOOD PERRY” a.k.a. “TG PERRY”.
Wow that was quick.
Authored By- Anchita Sharma
