Drake is being taken to court for using a phrase on his merchandise that also happens to be the name of an established apparels brand.
On Tuesday (June 12), Billboard reported that fashion company Members Only filed a lawsuit against’s Drizzy’s company Away From Home Touring Inc. in New York federal court for infringing their trademarks.
The case pertains to the Canadian superstar selling merchandise online as well as on his It’s All a Blur Tour that has “Members Only” stamped on them. It is important to note that he isn’t being accused of distributing counterfeit products, considering the phrase in question is also the title of a song released on For All The Dogs last year.
To that point, the brand’s current owners JR Apparel World LLC have argued: “The fact that ‘Members Only’ is a song on Drake’s album ‘For All the Dogs’ does not obviate the likelihood of confusion or give [him] a license to use our client’s ‘Members Only’ marks in such a confusing manner, particularly on or in connection with apparel items.”
“Away From Home’s use of ‘Members Only’ … is likely to cause confusion, mistake, and deception among consumers as to the origin of Away From Home’s infringing T-shirts,” the claim continues.
“Away From Home sold … goods bearing the mark ‘Members Only’ that are identical, overlapping, and/or highly similar to the goods that JR Apparel sells bearing its MEMBERS ONLY Marks,” the company’s attorneys write.”
Based on United States trademark law, the context of how the phrase has been used is key.
The 6 God’s decision to release a song titled “Members Only” doesn’t create confusion with the company of the same name, but selling merchandise with said words does because they’ve been selling the same items for decades now.
For that reason, Members Only has claimed that its status as a “famous household name” is being leveraged and distorted by Drake’s products.
The 37-year-old rapper and singer has yet to comment on the ordeal.