Abuse of the famous BIGGIE sweaters?!

These days in the eyes of the public is the B.I.G. debate about Coogi lawsuit in court with the NBA, Nike and New Era over the use of Biggie for branding purposes.

Months after filing the lawsuit against the above-mentioned brands, the Australian brand Coogi is now on the defense for copying designs the brand has allegedly trademarked and improper use of The Notorious B.I.G. sweater designs.

This all started back in November 2018 when the Nets officially reviled its new City Uniforms that looks very similar to the classic knitted sweaters that Biggie famously rapped about on songs like “Big Poppa” and “One More Chance.” They argued in court that “COOGI’s claim that its purported trade dress is so famous that, as a matter of law, it merits the enhanced protection of such recognized famous trademarks in hopes to get the case dismissed entirely. But unsuccessfully.

Especially at the part where Biggie comes in is with the defense’s claim that COOGI is not justified to use his name and likeness to boost its brand. The Australian brand hit them back with a counterargument that states:

“Biggie became closely associated with COOGI sweaters because he wore them, was repeatedly photographed in them, and sang about COOGI itself in his songs,”

continuing with,

“Biggie voluntarily used his right of publicity both in photos and in songs to promote COOGI sweaters.” It’s for these reasons that COOGI says the brand “has every right to benefit from any and all resulting fame.”

For now, the court still hasn’t made a decision as to whether or not they’ll be dismissing the case, so our eyes will be wide open to further events develop.