Diddy is suing his former company, Sean John, for illegally using his likeness.
There was a time Diddy was the Sean John don, but he soon later the company he founded in 1998 to the Global Brands Group Holding in 2016. For the past week, there has been growing tension between Diddy and the Sean John brand after he accused them of stealing his 2004 election campaign catchphrase “Vote or Die.” Now the hip-hop mogul has filed a lawsuit against GBG/Sean John for using his image without his permission.
Sean John, who teamed up with the brand Missguided to create a “Sean John x Missguided” women’s line, is accused of misguiding the public with misleading quotes that would suggest that Diddy was still a part of the outfit. Diddy is now suing the company for $25 million. In a recent statement addressing the lawsuit, Diddy’s attorney Jonathan D. Davis explained the point of the legal action.
“[Diddy] does not challenge [Sean John/GBG’s] right to use the Sean John trademark, but rather [Sean John/GBG’s] decision to leverage a fabricated quote they created and then falsely attributed to Mr. Combs, and to use Mr. Combs’s name and other monikers to create the false and misleading impression that Mr. Combs is the decision-maker behind the designs and creation of the GBG Collection,” said Davis.
According to the business titan’s lawyer, his name and likeness are also being used to exploit its revenue potential. A video campaign ad for the brand even featured his image. Diddy’s attorney continued, “[Sean John, GBG and Missguided] are using the Unapproved Material, which contains false or misleading representations of fact, to promote and sell the items in the GBG Collection because they understand that associating it with Mr. Combs will significantly increase sales and profits.”
Diddy also accused Sean John just last week of stealing his “Vote or Die” quote from his nonprofit Citizen Change established in 2004. The company is, according to Diddy and his lawyer, illegally selling merchandise like T-shirts with the phrase, AllHpHop reported. Diddy previously registered the quote for rights to sell similar gear, but GBG reportedly swooped in to apply for ownership as soon as the term expired. Diddy’s other lawyer John Krieger, Esq., accuses GBG of obtaining the rights under the guise that they are still affiliated with Diddy and said they “wrongfully and fraudulently applied for registration” for the mark.
What do you think about Diddy suing a company he founded for $25 million?
