LOS ANGELES – NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo has reached a settlement in the $2 million lawsuit over the “Greek Freak” name, according to court documents obtained by The Blast, an entertainment news outlet which reported that Antetokounmpo “informed the court he is voluntarily dismissing all claims against a company named Viral Style.”
“Plaintiff Giannis Antetokounmpo, through his undersigned counsel, hereby gives notice that the above-captioned action is voluntarily dismissed, with prejudice against the defendant, Viral Style L.L.C. as the parties have reached a settlement,” the documents read.
In August, the NBA star had accused Viral Style of selling merchandise with the “Greek Freak” name. The suit claimed the company was violating Antetokounmpo’s trademark by “designing, selling and distributing various products, including tees, hoodies and T-shirts, under the GREEK FREAK and GREEK FR34K marks brandmark and by using the GREEK FREAK and GREEK FR34K brand as the name of a clothing collection,” The Blast reported.
Attorneys for Antetokounmpo said they sent the company a cease and desist letter but the company “failed to respond or cooperate to provide a truthful record of his profits from the sale of GREEK FREAK and GREEK FR34K branded products,” The Blast reported.
The lawyers argued that “there is no question that the products sold by Defendant under the GREEK FREAK and GREEK FR34K marks were sold by Defendant with the purpose of confusing and misleading consumers into believing that they are purchasing products associated with or endorsed by Giannis Antetokounmpo, one of the most successful and popular NBA players. Defendant therefore traded off the goodwill and reputation of Antetokounmpo by engaging in the unauthorized use of Antetokounmpo’s trademark and publicity rights.”
Antetokounmpo’s trademark infringement lawsuit sought $2 million per counterfeit mark per type of goods sold, The Blast reported adding that “Antetokounmpo is on a roll, with this being the 2nd settlement he reached over the ‘Greek Freak’ name.”
According to previous court documents obtained by The Blast, Antetokounmpo reached a settlement in August with an artist named Jinder Bhogal who reportedly had been selling merchandise on his website using the “Greek Freak” nickname, infringing on Antetokounmpo’s trademark for his nickname.
Bhogal, based in Pennsylvania had continued to sell the bootleg merchandise in spite of several cease and desist letters leading to Antetokounmpo filing a federal lawsuit in July, “seeking $2 million per infringement and an injunction to prevent the man from continuing to sell the products,” The Blast reported.
Read more at thenationalherald.com
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