*Wu-Tang Clan leader RZA has filed a trademark opposition suit against a Brooklyn dog walking company trying to register the trademark, “Woof-Tang Clan.”
In the lawsuit filed Nov. 15th, RZA (real name Robert Diggs) explained the history of Wu-Tang Clan’s mark and how its appearance on various goods and services “has come to represent enormous goodwill,” reports the New York Daily News. The suit also claimed the Wu-Tang mark is “unmistakably associated with [RZA] such that it constitutes part of his identity.”
Woof-Tang Clan’s owner, Marty Cuatchon, filed a trademark application for his company on June 8th. The company also briefly sold t-shirts on its website that made explicit reference to late Wu-Tang rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s debut album, “Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version.” The shirt tweaked the album’s famous cover – a snapshot of ODB’s ID card for food stamps – to feature a dog named Bali in the rapper’s place.
In his opposition suit, RZA claimed the Woof-Tang Clan mark was “highly similar” to the Wu-Tang Clan mark in “sight, sound and commercial impression.” He added that the company “falsely suggests a connection” with those associated with the Wu-Tang Clan and argued the name is “likely to cause confusion, cause mistake, or to deceive consumers to falsely believe” the pet-care company is associated with the hip-hop troupe.
Speaking with the Daily News Saturday, Cuatchon said he was unaware of RZA’s trademark challenge and declined to comment until speaking with a lawyer. However, he did say, “I am a fan. We walk dogs. I thought it was a good idea.”
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