“All your friends keep judging us,
It’s like you’re my attorney.”
Those are the closing lines to the song “Members Only” by Drake. Unfortunately for the Toronto-raised rapper, the song may now require involvement from his actual attorney. JR Apparel World, which owns the jacket brand Members Only (PPAI 608517, Standard) has filed a lawsuit against Drake for printing the song title on t-shirts as part of his tour merch.
- The lawsuit comes after an ugly public feud that Drake was involved in with fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar.
In April, Drake released a line of merch that included the text “Members Only” as a reference to the 14th song off his most recent album For All The Dogs. The garments are made by the company Away From Home Touring.
The complaint was filed in New York federal court and makes the claim that, by putting the brand name on apparel, Drake and Away From Home are “likely to cause confusion, mistake and deception among consumers as to the origin of Away From Home’s infringing T-shirts.”
The lawsuit suggests that the t-shirt’s existence could cause damage to the Members Only brand, whether due to its quality or any associations not intended by JR Apparel World.
“The fact that ‘Members Only’ is a song on Drake’s album ‘For All The Dogs’ does not obviate the likelihood of confusion or give [Drake] a license to use our client’s ‘Members Only’ marks in such a confusing manner, particularly on or in connection with apparel items,” the lawsuit reads.
JR Apparel World says that it tried to resolve the issue directly with Away From Home for over two months before opting for litigation.
Drake’s website is not currently offering the products with the “Members Only” text on them, but JR Apparel is seeking damages in the claim.
