Pink is taking Pharrell to court over a recent attempt at securing "P.Inc" as a trademark.
The case, which comes just weeks after Pharrell was slapped with a lawsuit from Chad Hugo, was filed by Pink's lawyers, who shared that the trademark was too close to her stage name. The action claims that "P.Inc." would "likely to cause confusion, mistake and/or deception" among potential consumers, Billboard reports.
Pink's company, Lefty Paw Print, filed the lawsuit against Pharrell's PW IP Holdings company. The group owns numerous trademark registrations to her name in order to maintain her brand.
Pharrell's lawyers say that he was intending to use the trademark for a wide range of services, notably including "promotional marketing services in the field of music." The trademark's desired involvement in the music industry seems to be why the action led to concern among Pink's party.
If Pharrell was to get away with the federal trademark, an ® symbol would have been placed next to "P.Inc.," making it easier to sue others who may be using the title without permission.
PW IP Holdings LLC first applied for the trademark last year. The company also owns the trademark registrations for his N.E.R.D. band, his Miami-based Goodtime Hotel, and other brands and services that he has accumulated or created in the past.
While Pink and Pharrell have seemingly never worked together in the recording studio, they did come into contact when the "So What" singer served as a mentor on The Voice when Pharrell was appearing as a judge.
Both party's reps have yet to publicly comment on the case.
Before the musician Pink's team was made aware of the situation, the Victoria's Secret-owned brand PINK also filed a case against Pharrell's company last month. The lingerie business made similar arguments, stating that the name is too close to theirs.
"Opposer's use of its 'Victoria's Secret PINK' and 'PINK' marks predates applicant's filing date," the March filing from the retail giant said. "Applicant's mark is highly similar to, and is the phonetic equivalent of, opposer's 'PINK' marks."
Pharrell's legal issues with Hugo, who is a longtime friend since childhood and frequent producing partner, also commenced less than a month ago. Hugo's case started when he stated that Pharrell was "fraudulently" seeking sole control of the trademarks to "The Neptunes."
The title comes from their 2000s songwriting partnership. Although they have always split the group's assets in the past, Hugo is now accusing the "Happy" musician of allegedly trying to gain full access to their name.
Pharrell's reps originally stated that he was "surprised" by the allegations. They claim that their only reason for trying to control the trademark was to ensure that a third party did not get control of the title. Hugo's lawyers fired back, calling the applications "a land grab in a long simmering dispute," as they reject the explanation.
