For the second time in as many months, Diddy has filed a lawsuit against Sean John. According to AllHipHop, the hip-hop mogul sued the brand and its owner, Global Brands Group, for $25 million after he claims they falsely attributed a quote to him while promoting an upcoming line with women’s clothing retailer Missguided. The publication reports that the lawsuit also accuses Sean John of using Diddy’s image, likeness, and persona without his consent for the new line.
Sean John was created and launched by Diddy in 1998. He continued to own the brand before he sold it to GBG in 2016. In the lawsuit, he says at no point did he endorse the upcoming collaboration between Sean John and Missguided.
“[Diddy] does not challenge [Sean John/GBG’s] right to use the Sean John trademark,” his lawyer Johnathan D. Davis said. “But rather [Sean John/GBG’s] decision to leverage a fabricated quote they created and then falsely attributed to Mr. Combs, and to use Mr. Combs’s name and other monikers to create the false and misleading impression that Mr. Combs is the decision-maker behind the designs and creation of the GBG Collection.”
Davis added, “[Sean John, GBG and Missguided] are using the Unapproved Material, which contains false or misleading representations of fact, to promote and sell the items in the GBG Collection because they understand that associating it with Mr. Combs will significantly increase sales and profits.”
The new lawsuit comes after Diddy sued Sean John last month over the trademark for the phrase “Vote Or Die,” which he created with his e non-profit Citizens Change. He claims Sean John and GBG illegally used and trademarked it while selling merchandise with it during last year’s presidential campaign.
(via AllHipHop)