This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Business News Legal
I am the one and only, Will.i.am tells Pharrell Williams
By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 27 June 2013
Will.i.am is suing Pharrell Williams for using the phrase ‘I am’ in the name of his media company I Am Other. According to Rolling Stone, Will’s grievance is that Williams might put the name of his company on t-shirts and then people might get confused about whether it has something to do with his I Am clothing brand. Well, I’m confused.
In legal papers, Will.i.am’s lawyers said: “The registration of the [new] mark … is likely to dilute the I Am mark and the Will.i.am mark”.
Williams told Rolling Stone: “I am disappointed that Will, a fellow artist, would file a case against me. I am someone who likes to talk things out and, in fact, I attempted to do just that on many occasions. I am surprised in how this is being handled and I am confident that [the courts will ultimately think that] Will’s trademark claims are as meritless and ridiculous as I do”.