Jay-Z Loses "Rockafella" Restaurant Battle In Court
Thursday, January 14, 2010 1:00 PM | 38 comments
By Nolan Strong
Jay-Z may be one of the most powerful entertainers on earth, but the 40-year-old rap mogul recently lost a court dispute with a restaurant in New Castle, England.
The rap mogul, who raked an estimated $122 million dollars combined with the earnings of wife Beyonce last year, sued celebrity chef Terry Miller, over the use of the word “Rockafella,” the namesake of Miller’s eatery.
The dispute entered the courts in 2006, when Jay-Z claimed that the name would confuse fans into thinking Miller’s business was associated with his Roc-A-Fella Records empire.
Miller, 51, launched his restaurant with the proceeds he earned from winning $250,000 on a cooking reality show titled Hell‘s Kitchen.
A court ruled in favor of Miller and gave him granted him the exclusive trademark and the right to use the name in the UK.
This is not the first time a popular celebrity has lost the rights to a name in the United Kingdom.
In 2007, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs was banned from using the moniker “Diddy” in the UK, after losing a court battle to Richard “Diddy” Dearborn, who claimed the rap mogul was interfering with his trademark rights in the UK.
From AllHiphop.com
http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2010/01/14/22096344.aspx
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