Kanye West sues Amazon, others in massive digital currency smackdown

January 14, 2014

The rapper Kanye West, leaving no stone unturned, has included Amazon.com—and more than 50 others—in a new lawsuit intended to shut down some digital currencies that have sprung up bearing some variation of his name.The lawsuit follows the creation of “Coinye,” a digital currency that was inspired by West and was invented to provide an alternative to Bitcoin, another digital currency that some would say is more established. Coinye was developed to provide a more consumer-friendly version of Bitcoin, though it never really took off once West got wind of it.A cease-and-desist letter was filed against the creators of Coinye last week, alleging trademark infringement, among other claims. Coinye’s developers, however, seemed undeterred upon receiving the letter, advancing their launch date in response.The lawsuit filed Tuesday goes further, alleging trademark infringement, unfair competition, publicity violations, and other claims. “Defendants have admittedly and willfully infringed upon the Kanye West mark and consumers are likely to mistakenly believe that Mr. West is the source of these digital coins,” said the suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by attorneys at Pryor Cashman representing West.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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