Pharrell Williams has been accused of attempting to have full control over The Neptunes trademark by Chad Hugo, his former songwriting partner, who also happens to be his close friend. According to legal representatives for Hugo, Williams fraudulently attempted to register the trademark alone without consulting Hugo. This violates an existing agreement that requires both parties to split everything equally. Hugo’s attorney, Kenneth D. Freundlich stated, “By ignoring and excluding [Hugo] from the any and all applications filed by applicant for the mark ‘The Neptunes,’ applicant has committed fraud in securing the trademarks and acted in bad faith.”
The Neptunes, who are recognized as one of the most influential production duos in popular music, are known for their work on numerous hit tracks. They have worked with a variety of artists and are credited with producing 43% of tracks played on US radio in 2003. Last week, Hugo filed on three different trademark applications, the dispute being over the registrations. The attorney believes that there could be “future legal action” surrounding the trademark registrations to have them “voided.”
Pharrell Williams has shown surprise at the allegations. In response to the issue, his representative spoke to Billboard and stated, “Pharrell is surprised by this. We have reached out on multiple occasions to share in the ownership and administration of the trademark and will continue to make that offer. The goal here was to make sure a third party doesn’t get a hold of the trademark and to guarantee Chad and Pharrell share in ownership and administration.”
In the past, Williams and Hugo had agreed to divide all their assets equally. The filing of the registration by Williams alone may cause a long-simmering dispute to spill over. However, Hugo’s attorney clarified that the filing didn’t have anything to do with the dispute, but rather the registration of the trademark was essential to keep it out of the hands of third-party entities
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