Chad Hugo is accusing Pharrell Williams of fraudulently attempting to realize full management over The Neptunes logos.
Chad Hugo Makes Main Accusation In opposition to Pharrell
On Monday (April 1), Billboard reported that Chad Hugo filed authorized motion towards Pharrell final week at a federal tribunal. Hugo accused Pharrell of attempting to fraudulently safe the logos for The Neptunes identify. Hugo mentioned this violated a longstanding settlement between the pair that they’d break up all the things evenly.
“All through their over thirty yr historical past, [Hugo] and Williams agreed to, and in reality, have divided all property,” Hugo’s legal professional Kenneth D. Freundlich wrote within the go well with. “By ignoring and excluding [Hugo] from the any and all functions filed by applicant for the mark ‘The Neptunes,’ applicant has dedicated fraud in securing the logos and acted in unhealthy religion.”
A consultant for Pharrell referred XXL to a press release shared with Billboard, through which his group mentioned the trademark submitting got here as a shock.
“Pharrell is shocked by this. We’ve got reached out on a number of events to share within the possession and administration of the trademark and can proceed to make that provide,” the rep mentioned. “The objective right here was to verify a 3rd celebration doesn’t come up with the trademark and to ensure Chad and Pharrell share in possession and administration.”
In the authorized filings, Hugo’s attorneys argued Pharrell “knowingly and deliberately” moved ahead with trademark functions with out looking for out Hugo’s permission. In response to Hugo’s legal professional, the pair’s partnership entity ought to have been listed as a co-owner: “Nothing, both written or oral, offered Williams or [PW IP Holdings] with the unilateral authority to register the logos.”
Hugo additionally reportedly reached out to Pharrell’s attorneys a number of instances, to which they agreed to incorporate him within the logos. Hugo’s lawyer claimed that by no means truly occurred, partly as a result of Pharrell insisted on “onerous enterprise phrases,” in line with the go well with.
There are three separate functions to register “The Neptunes” as a trademark that Hugo is disputing: use of the identify on streaming music, for music movies and different content material, and overlaying stay performances. Pharrell’s firm, PW IP Holdings LLC, filed the paperwork.
XXL has reached out to Chad Hugo’s group for additional remark.
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