Los Angeles rapper G Perico has filed a lawsuit against Coach for allegedly stealing his (trademarked) idea.
In the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court on Thursday (Apr. 16), G Perico sued Coach and its parent company Tapestry for allegedly copying his “This is a blue t-shirt” slogan.
The rapper registered a trademark for the slogan in 2022 for clothing items and had been promoting shirts with the phrase through his music and social media presence. You can see a few examples of the shirts below, via G Perico’s Blue T-Shirt brand Facebook page.
In his complaint, the rapper says that in April 2023, he discovered that Coach was selling shirts that say “This is a Coach t-shirt.”
Those shirts, he says, infringe on his brand and cause confusion that can damage what he’s built. The rapper argues that Coach using a similar phrase to his has allowed them to “create a connection and benefit from [G Perico’s] success and popularity.”
According to G Perico, neither Coach nor Tapestry reached out to ask him about permission, to license his trademark, or to compensate him.
The rapper is seeking at least $150,000, plus an accounting of how much Coach has made from their version of the slogan. He also wants Coach and Tapestry to acknowledge his ownership of the trademark, and to pay him what he views as proper percentages for future use of the slogan.
Coach and Tapestry have yet to respond the allegations. Complex reached out to G Perico’s lawyer for comment, but he did not immediately respond.
