Drake being sued by ’80s brand Members Only for using phrase
Drake is facing a lawsuit after clothing brand Members Only alleged tour merch he sold infringed upon their company trademarks.
In a case filed on Tuesday (June 12), it was claimed that Drake’s company, Away From Home Touring Inc., had been selling shirts that read ‘Members Only’ on the recent ‘It’s All a Blur‘ Tour.
The words seemingly reference his track ‘Members Only’ from 2023 album ‘For all the Dogs’ and are not imitations of the recognisable Members Only racer jackets that made the brand popular in the 1980s.
However, Members Only lawyers have said (via Billboard): “The fact that ‘Members Only’ is a song on Drake’s album ‘For All the Dogs’ does not obviate the likelihood of confusion or give [Drake] a license to use our client’s ‘Members Only’ marks in such a confusing manner, particularly on or in connection with apparel items.”
They continued: “Away From Home’s use of ‘Members Only’ … is likely to cause confusion, mistake, and deception among consumers as to the origin of Away From Home’s infringing T-shirts.”
Per Billboard, representatives for Drake have not yet responded to a request for comment.
This is the latest legal battle facing the Canadian rapper, who recently was dismissed from lawsuits relative to Travis Scott‘s 2021 Astroworld festival disaster. Hundreds of lawsuits were filed in 2022 after a fatal crowd crush incident resulted in the deaths of 10 people and left hundreds of others injured.
Elsewhere, Drake settled another suit relating to the fake Vogue cover he and 21 Savage used as a promotional cover for their album ‘Her Loss’.
William Bowes, general counsel at Condé Nast, said: “It was clear to us that Drake and 21 Savage leveraged Vogue’s reputation for their own commercial purposes and, in the process, confused audiences who trust Vogue as the authoritative voice on fashion and culture.”
The ‘God’s Plan’ singer also faced legal threats following the release of ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’ which featured AI-generated Tupac Shakur vocals.
In a statement, the late rapper’s estate said: “Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time.”
Following the legal pressure from the estate, the track was taken down from all streaming platforms, and removed from all of Drake’s social media accounts.
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Poppy Burton
NME
