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DJ Khaled sues over trademarks exploiting his infant son’s name
By Chris Cooke | Published on Friday 15 June 2018
DJ Khaled has sued an American company over allegations it is trying to exploit his eighteen month old son’s name and profile for profit without permission. Khaled’s son is called Asahd and boasts 1.9 million followers on his Instagram account, which is currently plugging Khaled Junior’s new partnership with Nike’s Jordan brand.
In a lawsuit filed this week, Khaled Senior accuses Business Moves Consulting and its boss Curtis Bordenave of brazenly attempting to trade off the back of his son’s profile by seeking to register various marks linked to the name Asahd shortly after the boy’s birth. The lawsuit also accuses Bordenave of trying to interfere in the Khaled family’s brand partnership deal with Nike.
The lawsuit states: “Plaintiffs bring this action to halt the brazen attempt by trademark pirates … to usurp and trade on the names and trademarks of world-famous entertainer Khaled M Khaled, known popularly as ‘DJ Khaled’, and his eighteen month old son, Asahd Tuck Khaled”.
Noting Bordenave’s attempts to register and exploit other trademarks that imply links to celebrities or celebrities’ children, the lawsuit wants the court to ban the defendant from registering and using the Asahd-linked marks, and seeks damages and any profits made to date using Asahd’s name.
For his part, Bordenave told Law360 that he believes his company researches, registers and exploits trademarks with “good intent” and therefore “we’re prepared to fight this to the end”.
