S. Samuel
Grammy-winning rapper Kanye West has plenty of reasons to smile these days, notably for taking down a digital currency website which looked to make bank off his image.
According to reports, a hefty lawsuit against Coinye has resulted in the site being shutdown.
After Kanye West filed a lawsuit Tuesday (January 14) to stop production of the satirically titled “Coinye West” virtual currency, the seven anonymous coders behind the product decided that the buck stopped there — they shuttered their website, throwing up the simple message: “COINYE IS DEAD. You win, Kanye.” The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, said that the creators of the currency “brazenly admit” that they used Ye’s name and image to promote their product, according to USA Today. The original version of the coin featured Kanye’s face adorned by his famous shutter shades. (MTV)
After a cease-and-desist letter, Yeezy took severe legal action against Coinye this week.
The rapper’s lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. It seeks to stop companies and individuals that have not yet been identified from exchanging the digital currency. It also seeks unspecified damages for hurting West’s reputation. The lawsuit says the creators of the digital coins “brazenly admit” they used West’s name and likeness to associate their new currency with West. The lawsuit says entrepreneurs boasted that the currency can’t be stopped whether it “looks like a dollar, a dog or a cartoon picture of a rapper.” (USA Today)
Last week, Mr. West’s legal team issued the cease-and-desist letter to put an immediate end to the Coinye hype.
Lawyers for Kanye West filed cease-and-desist papers against the seven anonymous coders behind Coinye West, a virtual currency that went from chatroom joke to Internet sensation last week. The legal document, dated Jan. 6, includes an image of Coinye – a cartoon representation of West on a gold medallion. West’s lawyer argues trademark infringement. “Given Mr. West’s wide-ranging entrepreneurial accomplishments, consumers are likely to mistakenly believe that Mr. West is the source of your services,” wrote Brad Rose, a partner at Pryor Cashman LLP, which has previously worked for West. (Wall Street Journal)
Although the project still launched, certain changes were made to reduce the direct West connections.
For starters, it’s not Coinye West any more, just Coinye. The coin’s image has also been changed, though the reference is still clear. But one thing the coin’s creators haven’t done is give in to the lawyers’ demand that the domain coinyewest.com be given to Kanye, though they have changed the domain to coinyeco. (Escapist Magazine)
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