|
Wednesday, 14 March 2007 |
 The recent name dispute between London based DJ Richard 'Diddy' Dearlove's and US rapper Sean 'P Diddy' Combs could open up a major can of worms for other celebrities if the case is won.
The court case (if successful) could prove dangerous for celebrities everywhere, threatening to turn them into sitting targets and potentially costing them thousands if not millions of pounds as they fight to protect their stage names in their own countries, abroad and online.
The debate started when US rapper Puff Daddy decided to soften his image in 2001 following legal charges bought against him for bribery and gun possession. He took the decision to re-launch himself as 'P Diddy' - much softer on the tongue! However, a few years later he ditched the 'P' from his name and requested that everyone refer to him as plain old 'Diddy'.
Not a wise move mister Combs. Someone across the Atlantic, British DJ Richard Dearlove had been using the name 'Diddy' since 1992 and decided to sue the rapper claiming that he stole his name, despite the fact that the British DJ had spent 3 years recovering from a serious head injury and was not that well known anyway... Adhering to his freindly new image, 6 months ago Combs agreed not to use the name 'Diddy' (with the P) in the UK and rebranded himself again.
More recently a court has ruled that the rapper should drop a reference to 'Diddy' in one particular song, 'The Future', when he performs in the UK at Wembley arena (alongside Snoop Dogg on the Puff Puff Pass the Snoop tour). However, the judge failed to make a decision on whether to order that Combs stop promoting himself as 'Diddy' on websites such as MySpace and YouTube, which can, of course, be accessed in the UK. Why oh why does the internet make life so much complicated?! It is a global stage, there are no seas or borders that separate us!
The only other similar situation I can recall is when the runners-up of the 'Popstars' TV show, 'Liberty' were forced to change their name to 'Liberty X' following a legal challenge from an existing, though largely unknown, group that went by the same name.
If the case is not settled out of court, it will return to the high court later in the year, most likely in October where a decsion will be made and celebrities all over the world had better watch their backs and get trade marking against all the right territoties!
 |
