The Roc Nation founder settles a legal battle with a branding company over the licensing of his Roc Nation logo and agrees to purchase back some of its rights in Rocawear.
- November 20, 2019
AceShowbiz - Jay-Z has settled a bitter legal fight with a branding firm over the licensing of his Roc Nation logo.
Back in 2017, Jay-Z and his entertainment firm Roc Nation were sued by Iconix Brand Group chiefs for copyright infringement over their use of the Roc Nation logo on Major League Baseball clothing.
Iconix chiefs claimed that when they bought the rights to Jay's Rocawear clothing in 2007 for $200 million, they obtained the rights to use his Roc Nation logo on sports apparel but that Jay's MLB-Roc Nation deal infringed their copyright and undermined the earlier deal. The rapper countersued alleging accounting malpractice.
According to documents obtained by The Fashion Law website the suit was settled and dismissed last Wednesday, November 13, with Iconix bosses agreeing to sell some of its rights in Rocawear back to Roc Nation in exchange for $15 million.
Jay previously alleged Iconix orchestrated a "massive years-long fraud" to gain more business, defrauded its licensees and partners, and set off a "colossal accounting scandal the depths of which are still being uncovered."
He was questioned in a private deposition last year about fraud allegations relating to the deal and how Iconix wrote it off as worth far less than they paid, by officials from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
