For those of you who do not follow hip-hop music, one of the more popular rappers of recent times is named Rick Ross, whose real name is William Leonard Roberts II. It seems that that the rapper got his stage name from convicted drug trafficker “Freeway” Ricky Ross, who presided over a drug empire in Los Angeles in the 1980’s. Well, Mr. Ross (the convicted drug dealer) was not happy that Mr. Ross (the rapper) took his name, so he sued him in federal court for trademark infringement. Only problem, as the court noted, is that one does not have a trademark in their own name (unless your name happens to be associated with a brand or product). The Court opined:

“In support of his trademark claims, Plaintiff alleges that his name was well known in the drug trade and by law enforcement segments of the urban crime, rap and black comity because he did business as Rick Ross, until he was arrested, prosecuted and incarcerated in federal prison. Because this illegal activity cannot be used to establish secondary meaning, such allegations do not provide support for Plaintiff having a valid trademark for his name.”

Seems to make a lot of sense.