New twist in the legal history of American rapper Kanye West
Kanye West’s legal battle with Melbourne College burger joint Dropout Burgers has taken a turn, amid reports the American rapper has stopped communicating with his Australian lawyers.
Kanye, known professionally as Ye, launched legal proceedings in October, accusing the Ivanhoe restaurant and its owner Mark Elkhouri of “deceptive or misleading conduct” in using the name of his debut album, The College Dropout.
Elkhouri’s lawyer, Craig Smith, told the Federal Court on Friday that Ye had not taken any further action since filing the suit and had stopped communicating with his Australian lawyers, as reported by News.com.au
Kanye West’s legal battle with Melbourne College burger restaurant Dropout Burgers has taken a turn, amid reports that the American rapper (pictured) has stopped communicating with his Australian lawyers.
Smith is seeking to have the case dismissed when he returns to court on March 3.
Ye commenced legal proceedings on October 21, 2022, challenging College Dropout Burgers’ trademark registration for “deceptive or deceptive conduct.”
In a 43-page document, Ye’s lawyers demanded Elkhouri “withdraw his Australian trademark application for College Dropout Burgers, destroy any material that referenced Ye or his brand, and pay his costs.”
Kanye, known professionally as Ye, launched legal proceedings in October, accusing the Ivanhoe restaurant and its owner Mark Elkhouri (pictured) of “deceptive or misleading conduct” in using the name of his debut album, The College Dropout.
Elkhouri’s lawyer, Craig Smith, told the Federal Court on Friday that Ye had not taken any further action since filing the suit and had stopped communicating with his Australian lawyers, News.com.au reported. Pictured is Ye’s The College Dropout album cover.
Ye originally sent a cease and desist letter to the restaurant in June after learning of the similarities.
The hitmaker took issue with the restaurant’s name as it’s the same one he used on his first album and complained about the titles of various menu items.
Elkhouri has always insisted that his business made it clear that the restaurant was not associated with the artist.
The hitmaker took issue with the restaurant’s name as it’s the same one used on his first album and complained about the titles of various menu items.
‘Gold Digger’ and ‘Good Morning’ were among some of the hamburger meals that had the same name as Ye-produced songs.
A mural of Ye was also painted on the front of the store, while the restaurant’s old logo was inspired by the design of the rapper’s ‘breakout bear’ – an anthropomorphic teddy bear that featured heavily in promotional images for his album College Dropout.
Elkhouri filed a defense in November claiming there were clear disclaimers on the website that West had no association with the restaurant.
Ye commenced legal proceedings on October 21, 2022, opposing College Dropout Burgers’ trademark registration for “deceptive or deceptive conduct.”
“We have no association with Ye (formerly known as @kanyewest),” the disclaimer read.
‘The College Dropout BurgersTM name references both Ye’s first album and our origins as a company that started on a college campus here in Melbourne.
We are fans of Ye (FKA Kanye West) and his work. We pay homage to him with the names of some of our dishes, but of course he has no connection to our business.’
A mural of Ye was also painted on the front of the store, while the restaurant’s old logo was inspired by the design of the rapper’s ‘breakout bear’ – an anthropomorphic teddy bear that featured heavily in promotional images for his album College Dropout.
The burger joint opened in May 2021 and received a cease and desist letter from West in June 2022.
Elkhouri painted over West’s mural, changed the names of the burgers, and changed the store’s logo.
He kept the name of the restaurant as it was also a tribute to himself due to dropping out of college (or university) to start the business.
The restaurant continues to serve food named after other well-known college dropouts such as Mark Zuckerburg, Brad Pitt, and Bill Gates.
The restaurant continues to serve food named after other well-known college dropouts like Mark Zuckerburg, Brad Pitt, and Bill Gates.