The media conglomerate filed a complaint against the rappers in New York federal court on Monday, Nov. 7, alleging that the campaign violates trademark rights and seeking millions of dollars in damages as a result. According to a report from Billboard, the company’s lawyers are most concerned with the phony Vogue cover Drake and 21 Savage shared to Instagram ahead of the album’s release on Nov. 4. In the post, the musicians not only claim to be the latest Vogue covers stars, but they even thank longtime editor-in-chief Anna Wintour for featuring them on the cover. “All of this is false,” lawyers for Condé Nast wrote in the legal papers, while demanding that the artists cease all use of the fake covers. “None of it has been authorized by Condé Nast.” “Vogue magazine and its Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour have had no involvement in Her Loss or its promotion, and have not endorsed it in any way,” the docs continue, per the publication. “Nor did Condé Nast authorize, much less support, the creation and widespread dissemination of a counterfeit issue of Vogue, or a counterfeit version of perhaps one of the most carefully curated covers in all of the publication business.” According to the suit, the fake magazines were hardly changed from an actual Vogue issue before being distributed around the country. “The counterfeit magazine itself reveals that it is a complete, professionally reprinted reproduction of the October issue of Vogue, with unauthorized adaptations made in service of promoting defendants’ album,” the filing reads. “The counterfeit cover … provides no indication that it is anything other than the cover of an authentic Vogue issue.” Also named in the lawsuit is Hiltzik Strategies, the public relations agency for Drake, which the media company accuses of sending a mass email on Oct. 30, claiming that the fake magazines would be distributed in major cities. Consequently, Condé Nast sent the PR firm a cease and desist letter for the “unauthorized use of the Vogue trademark.” However, Condé Nast claims there is evidence that the magazines were still being sent out, despite the cease and desist, leading to “widespread public confusion” and “erroneous press accounts.” The publishers are now demanding the social post be taken down and that the fake magazines be discontinued, in addition to seeking statutory damages of up to $4 million dollars. More News:
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