Bow Wow appears to be a hard person to reach — at least that’s what Jermaine Dupri‘s father has claimed.
Dupri’s father Michael Mauldin, a veteran concert promoter and music executive, is suing Bow Wow and the Black Promoters Collective for what he claims is their unauthorized use of the phrase “Scream Tour.”
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Mauldin launched the tour in 2001, with Bow Wow and the Black Promoters Collective starting a competing version earlier this year without Mauldin’s involvement.
Court documents obtained by HipHopDX show that Mauldin is asking for more time to serve Bow Wow with a notice of complaint in the suit, which was filed in September.
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Bow Wow was supposed to be notified of the suit within 90 days, but Mauldin says that the “Like You” rapper “has been thus far unattainable since the initial filing of the complaint on September 21, 2023, due to the refusal of service by Defendant’s counsel and the refusal of service at Defendant’s address in Atlanta, Georgia.”
Mauldin’s attorney is asking for an additional three months to give Bow Wow the paperwork.
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In his suit, Mauldin is laying claim to what’s known as “common law” trademark for the phrase “Scream Tour,” which is why he’s suing both Bow Wow and others.
A common law trademark is one that is “established solely through use in commerce in a specific geographical area,” according to Gerbin Law. “Business names, logos, and phrases that are regularly used–even though they have never been federally registered–can all be considered common law trademarks.”
Mauldin’s claim is that he’s been using the name “Scream Tour” for his own tours for the past twenty-plus, even though he only formally trademarked the name two months after the Black Promoters Collective filed the trademark for themselves.
In fact, Mauldin is claiming that Bow Wow was well aware of who truly owned the “Scream Tour” trademark because he was on the tour himself.
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Mauldin claims that the competing Scream Tour was directly competing with his own, as both were planning to go on the road in the summer of 2023.
“Defendants have sowed consumer confusion in the music industry, and have disrupted Mauldin Brand’s plans for the next SCREAM TOUR™ live music performance events and tour,” the suit reads.
