Diddy has been hit by a lawsuit from Empress Haircare Products over the alleged usage of the name Empress, a perfume created by his clothing company Sean John.

Empress Haircare Products had filed the suit on January 10 in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York. The lawsuit claims that representatives of Sean John attempted to file a trademark for the name Empress despite knowing that an existing trademark had already been granted to the hair care production line.

It appears that in early 2010, a lawyer for Sean John had already made contact with Empress Haircare Products with the intentions of attaining the rights to use the trademark in return for compensation to which Empress later declined and refused to enter into negotiations with Sean John.

Sean John had then filed a second application to trademark the name “Empress Sean John” to which was later rejected also due to consumers being confused by the similarity in names. The fight for the trademark continues as Sean John have reportedly contacted Empress Haircare in an attempt to plead their case claiming that there would be no confusion in the marketplace.

Sean John are being sued for infringement of a federally registered trademark and unfair competition. Empress Haircare Products are seeking damages of up to three times the amount suffered on top of the money that Sean John have made through profits in the perfume line.

Shenahl Samarasinghe

@freshprince_sta