Pusha T Dismayed By Pharrell & Chad Hugo’s ‘Stupid’ Legal Battle Over Neptunes Trademark
Pusha
T
has
expressed
his
dismay
at
Pharrell
Williams
and
Chad
Hugo
becoming
embroiled
a
legal
battle
over
ownership
of
the
rights
to
The
Neptunes
trademark.
The
Virginia
rapper,
who
has
worked
with
The
Neptunes
extensively
both
as
a
member
of
the
Clipse
and
a
solo
artist,
reacted
to
the
news
on
Instagram
and
appeared
to
put
the
blame
for
the
falling
out
on
Hugo’s
lawyer.
AD
LOADING…
“There’s
not
a
dollar
involved
in
this
stupidity.
Just
a
lawyer
looking
to
drain
Chad’s
pockets.
Unreal,”
he
wrote.
Pusha
then
responded
to
a
comment
comparing
the
situation
to
Ralph
Tresvant
buying
the
trademark
to
New
Edition
and
said:
“Smh…
nothing
more,
nothing
less.”
Pharrell
originally
filed
for
ownership
of
the
trademarks
of
The
Neptunes
in
2022
which
is
now
being
disputed
by
his
longtime
production
partner.
Chad
Hugo
and
his
attorneys
are
arguing
that
The
Neptunes
always
agreed
to
split
everything
equally
and
that
Pharrell’s
move
violates
that
agreement.
AD
LOADING…
Hugo’s
attorney
Kenneth
D.
Freundlich
said
in
a
statement
to
Billboard:
“Throughout
their
over
thirty
year
history,
[Hugo]
and
Williams
agreed
to,
and
in
fact,
have
divided
all
assets.
“By
ignoring
and
excluding
[Hugo]
from
the
any
and
all
applications
filed
by
applicant
for
the
mark
‘The
Neptunes,’
applicant
has
committed
fraud
in
securing
the
trademarks
and
acted
in
bad
faith.”
Pharrell’s
representatives
denied
they
were
acting
in
bad
faith,
saying:
“Pharrell
is
surprised
by
this.
We
have
reached
out
on
multiple
occasions
to
share
in
the
ownership
and
administration
of
the
trademark
and
will
continue
to
make
that
offer.
“The
goal
here
was
to
make
sure
a
third
party
doesn’t
get
a
hold
of
the
trademark
and
to
guarantee
Chad
and
Pharrell
share
in
ownership
and
administration.”
AD
LOADING…
However,
Hugo’s
legal
team
denied
that
this
was
the
case:
“If
Pharrell’s
intent
was
to
include
Chad
in
the
filing,
he
should
have
registered
it
in
the
name
of
them
jointly
or
as
a
partnership
and
not
in
his
own
name.
This
was
a
land
grab
in
a
long
simmering
dispute
that
has
yet
to
be
resolved.”
Hugo’s
attorney
also
claimed
that
Pharrell
had
promised
to
include
him
in
the
filing
but
this
didn’t
happen
allegedly
because
the
“Happy”
hitmaker
wanted
his
production
partner
to
sign
“onerous
business
terms.”
AD
LOADING…
In
happier
times,
the
childhood
friends
became
one
of
the
most
dominant
forces
in
all
of
music
in
the
2000s,
producing
hits
for
everyone
from
JAY-Z,
Snoop
Dogg
and
and
Ludacris
to
Britney
Spears,
Justin
Timberlake
and
Gwen
Stefani.
In
2022,
the
Virginia-bred
duo
were
inducted
into
the
Songwriters
Hall
of
Fame.