Pharrell Williams files lawsuit against Will.i.am

Pharrell Williams has filed a lawsuit against Will.I.Am over his ‘I Am’ brand.

The paperwork, filed in the US, comes after it was reported last week that the Black Eyed Peas rapper was intending to file a claim against Williams and his I Am Other brand, because it had a close resemblance to his own i.am+ range.

Will.i.am quickly denied the suit,  however Williams has now filed a case in a US court asking them to rule that his I Am Other range does not violate any trademarks owned by will.i.am, reports BBC Newsbeat.

The lawsuit claims that will.i.am sent letters to Williams asking him to stop using ‘I Am’ branding on his website.

Williams’s use of ‘I Am’ does not feature fullstops between the words and so the star argues that I Am Other does not “infringe, dilute or unfairly compete” with will.i.am’s branding.

He added that will.i.am’s trademark for ‘I Am’ covers clothing and so his claim to the branding is “relatively weak” considering similar trademarks already exist.

Will.i.am’s team have yet to respond to the new lawsuit filed by Pharrell Williams.