Artists in the modern day are faced with the task of selling a brand along with their music. So in the music industry, it is not rare for copyright and trademark disputes to happen over a name, idea, or image of an artist rather than their music. A good example of this is seen in the recent dispute between hip-hop/ R&B artists Will.I.Am (real name William Adams), and Pharelll Williams. The dispute is over Pharell’s new creative brand “i am OTHER”, which Adams claims is too similar to his trademark “I AM”. This isn’t the first time Adams has been involved in an intellectual property dispute this year. In early May, Adams was accused of sampling the song Rebound from artists Arty and Mat Zo without their permission.
My two cents on the matter: Adams’ claim has some merrit. He has created somewhat of a brand out of the phrase “I AM” and has even created his own clothing line with the same name. While I personally don’t think about Adams whenever I hear the phrase “I AM”, it is possible that some other people might and Pharrel’s use of the phrase might create confusion in the market. Then again, Pharell’s brand dosn’t have the emphasis on the phrase i am, but rather on the word “other’.
Source:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/iam-suing-you–pharrell-williams-feels-the-wrath-of-william-in-row-over-copyaright-of-the-phrase-i-am-8675483.html
