6IX9INE is nothing but a thief, who stole his name, so says a rival artist who just filed a lawsuit against the rapper.
A guy named Warren Hamilton Jr. accuses 6IX9INE of ripping him off and confusing everyone since he initially thought of and performed under the rap moniker SIX9.
SIX9 claims he started using his name in 2007 and worked with nationally known artists like Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, Shawty Lo, Metro Boomin, Shawty Redd, Stoopidbeatz, and others.
SIX9 tirelessly worked to promote his career for the last ten years, releasing many singles and mixtapes between 2013 and 2022.
In March of 2014, SIX9 filed for federal trademark registration, and his application was granted in October of that year.
SIX9 claims 6IX9INE, born Daniel Hernandez, started rapping in 2014 under Tekashi69.
But he changed the spelling and started rebranding himself as 6IX9INE sometime around 2015 after he pled guilty to using a child in a sexual performance.
SIX9 says 6IX9INE first used the new version of the name in November 2017, when he released his single “GUMMO.”
6IX9INE didn’t attempt to register his version of the name until February of 2020, while Hamilton’s SIX9 mark was still registered, but by that time, the damage was done.
“[The] adverse use of the 6IX9INE mark to sell Hernandez’s goods and services in the entertainment industry has caused confusion in the marketplace and injured and stifled Hamilton’s career in the entertainment industry,” SIX9’s lawyer David Chase LanCarte explained.
“Many rap and hip-hop consumers have erroneously accused and criticized Hamilton of stealing Hamilton’s SIX9 mark from Hernandez. Many rap and hip-hop consumers have also mistakenly attended Hamilton’s live performance shows, thinking that Hernandez was going to be performing. Many music promoters and booking agents have refused to book live performance shows featuring Hamilton because his trademark SIX9 is so confusingly similar or the same as Defendants’ infringing 6IX9INE mark,” LanCarte said.
In May of 2020, the USPTO denied the proposed 6IX9INE mark and agreed with SIX9 that their names were too similar and were bound to confuse the marketplace.
6IX9INE’s lawyers appealed the ruling twice, and they were shut down both times to get the rainbow-haired rapper’s name registered.
However, SIX9 found himself in trouble in June of 2021, after he realized he forgot to re-register his mark, which was canceled.
SIX9 said he put in a new application immediately and contacted 6IX9INE’s lawyer to let him know they were infringing upon his trademark and to stop using the mark or obtain a license directly from him.
But on June 21st, 6IX9INE’s lawyer sent a message to the USPTO examiner, letting the organization know that the SIX9 mark had been canceled.
SIX9 says his rival’s lawyer fraudulently suggested that the likelihood of confusion was now “moot” due to the cancellation of the SIX9 trademark.
SIX9 claims 6IX9INE’s lawyer’s lie violated a clause in the application which reads “to the best of signatory’s knowledge and belief, no other persons have the right to use the mark and commerce.”
As a result of 6IX9INE’s lawyer’s alleged lie, the 6IX9INE mark was published in July 2021.
SIX9 is demanding 6IX9INE permanently stop using his name on clothing, music, or anywhere else.
SIX9 is also looking for actual damages, and all of the profits 6IX9INE may have made from using the infringing mark.