Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo are in a legal dispute over the rights to The Neptunes name. Hugo has accused Williams of "fraudulently" attempting to secure trademarks for "The Neptunes" without informing and including him.
In 1992, Williams and Hugo formed the production and song-writing duo, The Neptunes. Under that name, they would go on to write and produce songs for a massive range of artists, including hip-hop legends like Jay-Z and Ol' Dirty Bastard to pop stars like Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani. Together, the duo produced some of the greatest hits of the 1990s and 2000s, such as Kelis' "Milkshake" and Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot."
The Neptunes have countless awards and were ranked as Billboard's producer of the decade in 2009. In 2022, the duo were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Over the years, Hugo has kept a relatively low profile while Williams gained wide recognition with several hits throughout the 2010s, like his appearance on Daft Punk's track, "Get Lucky."
In 2022, Williams filed to register "The Neptunes" as a trademark. He filed the request under his company PW IP Holdings LLC, which owns several of the "Happy" singer's business ventures in and outside of the music industry. The company also owns the rights to N.E.R.D., a trio consisting of Williams, Hugo and Shay Haley.
Before Hugo filed suit, PW IP Holdings LLC had registered the duo's name for sound recordings. Hugo and his team said that this sound recording trademark could be the subject of future legal action.
Kenneth D. Freundlich, a well known attorney in the music industry, represents Hugo in his suit.
Freundlich wrote to Williams' camp that: "By ignoring and excluding [Hugo] from the any and all applications filed by [Williams] for the mark 'The Neptunes,' [Williams] has committed fraud in securing the trademarks and acted in bad faith."
Freundlich also wrote that the duo, for over 30 years, have "agreed to, and in fact, have divided all assets," signaling that Williams' registering the Neptunes trademark on his own would be a departure from this norm.
Williams and his camp countered this accusation. A representative from his team told Billboard that the N.E.R.D member was "surprised" by Hugo taking legal action. The party claimed that Williams had "reached out on multiple occasions to share in the ownership and administration of the trademark."
Hugo's suit alleges that Williams did not include him in the trademark filing process. However, Williams' camp claims that they've acknowledged Hugo as a "equal co-owner of the trademarks."
The goal of filing the trademarks, Williams claimed, wasn't to keep Hugo out of the loop, but to "make sure a third party doesn't get a hold of the trademark." However, Hugo and his team believe that Williams was acting in "bad faith."
Williams is filing to register The Neptunes as a trademark for three purposes: using the name for streaming platforms, for music videos and other miscellaneous content, and for live performances.
