Pharrell doesn’t like that Will.i.am, but he does like Dr. Seuss apparently.
Believe it or not, the beloved children’s book author is being dragged into a trademark dispute between the rapper/producer and the Black Eyed Peas member.
Allow us to explain …
Pharrell, who’s on two huge hits right now (“Get Lucky” by Daft Punk and “Blurred Lines” with Robin Thicke), recently launched a YouTube channel, I Am Other.
Will.i.am is trying to block him from using the name, and he’s pissed.
According to Pharrell, Will has already sent him a nasty cease and desist letter informing P that he owns the rights to all things with an “I Am” element.
In response, P sued back, hoping to stop Will from stopping him.
Pharrell argues that he uses “I Am” in a totally different way. Specifically, he says, Will is using the “I Am” as a playful riff on his name, in a Dr. Seuss-esque manner.
He quotes from Dr’ Seuss classic’ Green Eggs and Ham:
“Sam I am
I am Sam
I am Sam
Sam I am”
Pharrell continues in his suit, “In contrast, the I Am Other mark means ‘I am something else,’ leaving what that ‘else’ is to the imagination of the consumer.”
“It certainly does not mean ‘I am Will.'”
Case closed? A judge as yet to rule in the case, but it seems hard to believe will.i.am really has a legal monopoly on the words “I Am” … doesn’t it?