Pharrell files $14 million lawsuit over fake Billionaire Boys Club clothing
Pharrell Williams has sued print-on-demand company Spreadshirt for allegedly selling fake Billionaire Boys Club clothing. The musician filed a $14 million lawsuit against the company for profiting off his brand’s identity.
Williams founded streetwear brand Billionaire Boys Club alongside Nigo in 2003, launching sublabels Ice Cream, Bee Line and Billionaire Girls Club.
According to AllHipHop, BBC Ice Cream LLC filed the complaint, seeking damages and a court order to stop the claimed infringement. They claim Spreadshirt allowed unauthorised sellers to upload and sell fake Billionaire Boys Club items before printing, packaging and shipping them while hiding their role.
Pharrell’s attorney, Richard J Pocker, said, “[Spreadshirt’s] conduct continues unabated, and the manufacture, publishing, advertising for sale and sales of counterfeit and infringing Products persist. BBC brings this action to put a stop to this ongoing unlawful conduct and to hold [Spreadshirt] accountable for their actions.
The suit claims Spreadshirt actively participated in the operation and accuses them of failing to apply safeguards to prevent intellectual property theft.
Spreadshirt allegedly used white-label packaging to hide its involvement and provided few tools for reporting trademark violations, misleading customers and damaging BBC’s image.
Pharrell’s brand also claims Spreadshirt violated federal trademark laws, including those against counterfeiting, trademark dilution, and false designation of origin.
During an interview with the Associated Press in 2009, P explained the vision behind Billionaire Boys Club and where he got his inspiration.
“Billionaire Boys Club is a lifestyle brand,” he said. “Ice Cream is a little more affordable, but BBC is different. I created that brand because I had a lot of admiration for Ralph Lauren, but I wanted to take that concept and pretend that Willy Wonka was the head designer.”