Will.i.am, Pharrell, Trademarks And Ham, Sam I Am
from the facepalm-i-am dept
We've written in the past about will.i.am, the oft-spectacled member of The Black Eyed Fergies. In particular, he has been known in the past to be somewhat lax in the realm of intellectual property laws and rights. That's to his credit. On the other hand, his recent overprotective nature in the matter of trademarks is disheartening, though admittedly entertaining. See, will.i.am apparently holds trademarks on the phrase "I am" covering clothing goods. Pharrell Williams' company, I Am Other Entertainment, attempted to register the mark "I Am Other" with the USPTO, prompting a cease and desist from will.i.am and his company I.Am.Symbolic. In return, Pharrell filed for a declaratory judgement seeking to affirm that no infringement has occurred.
It's in that document that the absurdity of all of this begins. Pharrell focuses on how will.i.am attempted to get the mark registered for products like jewelry and accessories, but was rejected due to similarity with already-existing marks. Then, Pharrell's filing drags beloved children's book writer Dr. Seuss into the mix, because why the shit not?
Pharrell Williams also points to popular culture, from Dr. Seuss' use of the words "Sam I am" from the book Green Eggs and Ham to the long list of other musicians who have put "I Am" to use. For example, there's Beyonce's 2008 album, I Am…, as well as the 146 artists (I Am Virgin, I Am Ghost, I Am Band …) counted by the plaintiff on AllMusic.com.And, the ridiculousness of mentioning Dr. Seuss aside, it's hard not to see his point. There's a great deal of folks in the music business making use of the phrase in a variety of ways. Beyond that, "I am" is one of those English language conventions that's a bit hard to do without, and equally difficult to associate with anyone in particular for that very reason. What I'm saying is that anyone that hears the phrase "I am" coming out of a musicians mouth or company and immediately decides that it must be will.i.am's product needs to be taken away somewhere, preferably a dark and quiet room, and have a few things about life and language explained to them, likely in the most brutal way possible.
"Thus, the I AM formative is diluted in the music industry, and Defendants cannot preclude others from using that phrase especially when it is used in conjunction with additional, distinctive words," says the lawsuit.
will.i.am disagrees, however, stating that because Pharrell made the mistake a while back of collaborating with him on some music projects, confusion is inevitable.
Yes, there might be others who use "I Am," but will.i.am is famous, has invested in a "family" of marks (I Am Scholarship, I Am Home, I Am Angel, etc.), and has collaborated with Pharrell Williams in the past, which might lead consumers to believe that "I Am Entertainment" represents another such collaboration.Right, because anyone that's done a duet with will.i.am must hitherto be a collaborator anytime they use the phrase "I am." Never mind that Pharrell's "I Am Other" mark appears to go out of its way to create disassociation. Never mind that this is likely one of the most common phrases in the English language. No, we're all to be confused between one hip hop star and another. Morons in a hurry...all of us.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: i am, pharell, trademark, will.i.am
Companies: i am other, i.am.symbolic
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
Popcorn, anyone?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Was that Will.I.am in the movie? if so, likely the best music he ever made!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8TRoMSG-5I
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I'm not aware of too many things
what.i.am is what.i.am
Are you what.you.are, or what?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: I'm not aware of too many things
I.am not aware of too many things.
FTFY
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I thought it was "Be kind to Morons Week"
Tim, be nice. Even though Will.i.am may deserve this as the only person who is thinking this, it is "Be kind to Morons Week".
Let him be his own little storm in his own little teacup. There are far more serious things to worry about - like Sweet Little Kev and the ALP leadership worries.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
"hey noob!!!
In around 1644 our ancestor wrote out what has been described as the absolute fundamental element of western philosophy that encompassed the phrase cogito ergo sum or in English "I think therefore I AM"
We would posit that it should be expanded upon to now say
I think... therefore I am NOT will.i.am
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I am Spartacus
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Has he lost his mind
Can he see or is he blind or
Can he walk at all or if he moves will he fall
Is he alive or dead has he thoughts with in his head
Well just pass him there why should we even care"
http://www.metrolyrics.com/iron-man-lyrics-ozzy-osbourne.html
https://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=9LjbMVXj0F8
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I thought it was...
Who cares, as long as he can still give head.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Some on which he can trademark
I, er we am sure no-one else would want them or wish to be identified with them.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ninja is wondering about it
Misaka approves! (reference: Toaru Majutsu no Index)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
A Magazine owns I AM ENTERTAINMENT
Besides...isn't Pharell's last name Williams? LOL
[ link to this | view in chronology ]