*Hip-hop duo Outkast has initiated a federal lawsuit against the electronic dance music duo ATLiens for trademark infringement.
According to Rolling Stone, the lawsuit accuses ATLiens of the “improper, willful, unauthorized, and illegal use and registration of the ATLIENS mark,” which is owned by Outkast.
Outkast’s attorneys note in the legal filing that their second album, “ATLiens,” was released in 1996 and the dance duo applied for the trademark in 2020, asserting they had been using the name since 2012. The lawsuit contends that the conflicting trademark hinders Outkast from securing registrations for their original ATLIENS mark.
Outkast’s lawyers allege that ATLiens chose the name “to trade upon the tremendous fame and goodwill associated with Plaintiff’s ATLIENS album, song, and mark, or, at a minimum, to call to consumers’ minds Plaintiff’s famous ATLIENS album, song, and mark.”
Outkast’s attorneys Abigal J. Remorse and Peter E. Nussbaum said in a statement that the situation is “a basic brand protection issue.”
Scroll to continue reading
“Efforts to resolve this matter amicably were unfortunately unsuccessful and Outkast therefore had to file suit in order to protect the valuable name and trademark ATLIENS that it created and has continuously used for nearly 30 years,” the attorneys said.
The lawsuit comes as Andre 3000 gears up to kick off his fall tour dates in support of his instrumental album “New Blue Sun.”
Below is the list of tour dates:
- September 19 – New Orleans, LA – Orpheum Theater
- September 21 – Dallas, TX – AT&T PAC – Winspear Opera House
- September 22 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at The Moody Theater
- September 25 – Houston, TX – The Hobby Center For The Performing Arts
- September 27 – Albuquerque, NM – Kiva Auditorium
- September 28 – Mesa, AZ – Mesa Arts Center
- October 1 – San Diego, CA – Humphreys By The Bay
- October 2 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre
- October 4 – Santa Barbara, CA – Arlington Theatre
- October 5 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
- October 9 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theater
- October 11 – Vancouver, BC – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
- October 14 – Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
- October 16 – Salt Lake City, UT – Eccles Theater
- October 17 – Denver, CO – Ellie Caulkins Opera House
- October 19 – Minneapolis, MN – Northrop
- October 21 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed
- October 22 – Detroit, MI – Masonic Cathedral Theatre
- October 25 – Brooklyn, NY – BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
- October 30 – Boston, MA – Boch Center Wang Theatre
- November 1 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia presented by Highmark
- November 2 – Akron, OH – Akron Civic Theatre
- November 8 – Richmond, VA – Altria Theater
- November 9 – Washington, DC – The Kennedy Center
- November 12 – Durham, NC – DPAC
- November 14 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: André 3000 Announces New North American Tour Dates
