Kanye West wants to make money. He doesn't want to BE money.
The superstar rapper and wealthy music mogul filed a trademark infringement lawsuit Tuesday against the creators of a humorous new Kanye West themed digital currency called COINYE that launched last week.
The logo for the currency which is bought and sold over the Internet features a cartoon version of West wearing his signature shutter shades.
Defendants have willfully and admittedly traded upon the goodwill and notoriety of Kanye West one of the most famous entertainers and brand names in the world claims the suit filed in Manhattan federal court which seeks unspecified damages.
The suit refers to COINYE as a crypto currency because it exists only as computer code not in any physical form. Bitcoin is the most well known crypto currency.
In interviews with the press defendants brazenly admit that they adopted the marks COINYE WEST COINYE and COYE to directly associate their newly minted crypto currency with Mr. West the suit states.
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The College Dropout rapper who had a baby daughter with fianc e Kim Kardashian last year claims the COINYE creators are damaging his brand.
With each day that passes Mr. West's reputation is irreparably harmed Consumers are likely to mistakenly believe that Mr. West is the source of these digital coins the suit alleges.
To demonstrate the problem the suit lists 18 tweets posted by consumers about the new currency.
Kanye West now has a currency Twitter user Christopher Hudson wrote on Jan. 2 the suit notes.
Move over bitcoin kanyewest is about to create the greatest digital currency of all time Chase Graves tweeted according to the suit.
West filed a cease and desist letter on Jan. 6. But the defendants defied the Gold Digger hip hopper by moving forward the suit claims.
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coinyecoin.org The website for COINYE. Kanye West s suit says 'Consumers are likely to mistakenly believe that Mr. West is the source of these digital coins.'The programmers planned to offer COINYE units in blocks of 666 666 starting last week. The extent to which the launch occurred was unclear Tuesday.
The number 666 666 is a nod to West's rumored affiliation with the Illuminati and is closely associated with Mr. West and his Yeezus album according to the suit.
West's lawyer Brad Rose declined to comment Tuesday.
Many buyers of crypto currency are hoarders hoping their currency catches on and grows in street value. But ahead of the COINYE launch an online Coinye Casino was inviting people to play roulette with the coins.
CoinyeCasino.com which received a cease and desist letter from West on Jan. 8 was unavailable Tuesday.
Earlier Tuesday a message sent to the site earned the Daily News an invitation to a chat room that appeared to be backing the virtual currency.
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It's a parody. We didn't want to offend anyone. We respected Mr. West said a programmer who organized the chat.
COINYE has been revised and should be protected as a parody another participant said. We believe it is a separate thing from his intellectual property. This community is highly supportive and dedicated to making COINYE a coin for the masses.
A third participant brought up West's recent alleged battery of a man in Beverly Hills.
Has COINYE harmed him more than assaulting that 18 year old If anything he has gotten more press attention for it.
Digital coin exchange sites 0DayCoins.com Coinye Exchange.com and Newchg.com are named as defendants in the suit along with Amazon.com which provides web hosting services.
The suit also names Dogecoin accusing it of operating COINYE sites plus a Coinye Casino programmer who goes by the name Jonny Bravo and 100 additional unnamed defendants.
Some supporters argue the point of crypto currency is to create an international system free from government regulation that works as a cheap egalitarian version of mainstream services such as Western Union.
dbeekman nydailynews.com
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