DJ Envy is one of the most well-known names in the music business, thanks to the hit radio show “The Breakfast Club” he hosts with Angela Yee and Charlamagne Tha God.
Over the years, Envy has expanded his businesses to include flipping real estate and cashing in on one of his main loves – cars.
The radio personality’s Carchella car show is a relatively new event featuring exotic cars owned by some of the biggest names in Hip-Hop. Artists like Lil Baby, 50 Cent, Lil Uzi Vert, and others have featured their rides at Carchella.
Unfortunately for Envy, he has been accused of being less than original with the name of the car show.
Coachella, one of the world’s best-known concert brands, has accused Envy of biting the name and the famous logo.
The organizers behind Coachella just smacked DJ Envy with a trademark infringement lawsuit, claiming the car show is nothing but a ripoff of the Coachella brand.
DJ Envy held the first Carchella in July of 2021, followed by another successful event in August. He is also promoting an event for October and another one in December.
The bosses at Coachella, launched in 1999, claim they asked DJ Envy to come up with another name to avoid a lawsuit. However, he ignored their requests, and now it could cost him dearly.
“Despite repeated requests, [DJ Envy and Carchella] have refused to adopt their own distinctive event name and mark. Accordingly, [Coachella and Goldenvoice] have been forced to file this action to protect the COACHELLA trademarks and service marks from infringement and to protect the public from the likelihood of confusion and false association caused by [DJ Envy and Carchella],” reads the lawsuit obtained by AllHipHop.com.
According to Coachella, they also host car exhibitions. So there is a high likelihood that consumers will assume the brands are associated since Coachella also markets the festival to the same audience as DJ Envy.
“[DJ Envy’s] advertising of Carchella through the DJ Envy Instagram page directly competes with the Coachella festival’s fan base, as rap and hip-hop are some of the primary genres played at Coachella festivals,” Coachella’s lawyer Rodman E. Honecker explained. [DJ Envy has] gone to great lengths to imitate Coachella. Like Coachella, the Carchella festival is an outdoor event featuring music and art.”
Coachella claims DJ Envy’s name is not even new or original to them on the legal front, either. Over the years, organizers for Coachella say they have stopped several “Carchella” events.
The business has blocked previous attempts to register the “Carchella” name as a trademark, and the company plans to do the same with DJ Envy, who is also attempting to register the name.
DJ Envy is being sued for trademark infringement and unfair competition.
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