A battle over bling has erupted between rapper Jay-Z and a professional wrestler, who is suing the hip-hop artist for allegedly hijacking his "Diamond Cutter" hand symbol to promote his rap empire.
Pro wrestler-turned-yoga guru Diamond Dallas Page, whose real name is Page Falkinburg, is seeking unspecified damages from Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella records for "misappropriating" a diamond-shaped hand sign that Falkinburg says he developed to cultivate his persona in the entertainment industry.
The suit alleging trademark and copyright infringement claims that the hand symbol, along with a finishing move by the same name, became synonymous with Diamond Dallas Page in the mid-'90s, when Falkinburg became famous for wrestling bouts with the likes of Randy "Macho Man" Savage and Hulk Hogan.
"At every wrestling event, plaintiff's flash of the diamond cutter hand sign would work the crowd into a frenzy as fans would cheer and flash the diamond cutter trademark back to plaintiff," the suit claims.
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Falkinburg still uses the signal as a motivational speaker, author and yoga instructor, says his lawyer, and Jay-Z's use of the "Diamond Cutter" is diluting the trademark.
Diamond Dallas Page says the 'diamond cutter' is his signature move.
"To build an image and a following, Diamond Dallas Page developed that symbol for fans to associate him with," said Falkinburg's attorney, George Gallegos. "Jay-Z is now using it the same way to promote himself, his record label and his image to the public."
Gallegos said earlier discussions fell through between Falkinburg's previous lawyers and lawyers for Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, resulting in the lawsuit.
Calls to Carter's attorney, Michael Guido, were not immediately returned.
Gallegos declined to provide details on the status of Falkinburg's so-called trademark, but the suit asserts common-law copyright in its attempt to stop Carter from flashing the hand sign at concerts and in videos and photographs.
The complaint, which was filed Friday in Central California's U.S. District Court, cites Carter's music video for the song "Encore," in which he flashes the symbol to the audience.
The suit also asks for any profits that Carter reaped through his use of the diamond signal.
Gallegos says the complaint stems from consumers' confusion over who owns the rights to the hand symbol, which his client has used to sell clothes, action figures and other merchandise for nearly a decade.
"Diamond Dallas Page has been experiencing a lot of confusion, and some people have suggested that he actually borrowed it from Jay-Z," Gallegos said. "We hope to fix that."
DDP WINS IMO, Jz hella jacked that hand symbol from ddp no question about it..... question is how much loot does ddp get?
Pro wrestler-turned-yoga guru Diamond Dallas Page, whose real name is Page Falkinburg, is seeking unspecified damages from Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella records for "misappropriating" a diamond-shaped hand sign that Falkinburg says he developed to cultivate his persona in the entertainment industry.
The suit alleging trademark and copyright infringement claims that the hand symbol, along with a finishing move by the same name, became synonymous with Diamond Dallas Page in the mid-'90s, when Falkinburg became famous for wrestling bouts with the likes of Randy "Macho Man" Savage and Hulk Hogan.
"At every wrestling event, plaintiff's flash of the diamond cutter hand sign would work the crowd into a frenzy as fans would cheer and flash the diamond cutter trademark back to plaintiff," the suit claims.
Story continues
advertisement
Falkinburg still uses the signal as a motivational speaker, author and yoga instructor, says his lawyer, and Jay-Z's use of the "Diamond Cutter" is diluting the trademark.
Diamond Dallas Page says the 'diamond cutter' is his signature move.
"To build an image and a following, Diamond Dallas Page developed that symbol for fans to associate him with," said Falkinburg's attorney, George Gallegos. "Jay-Z is now using it the same way to promote himself, his record label and his image to the public."
Gallegos said earlier discussions fell through between Falkinburg's previous lawyers and lawyers for Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, resulting in the lawsuit.
Calls to Carter's attorney, Michael Guido, were not immediately returned.
Gallegos declined to provide details on the status of Falkinburg's so-called trademark, but the suit asserts common-law copyright in its attempt to stop Carter from flashing the hand sign at concerts and in videos and photographs.
The complaint, which was filed Friday in Central California's U.S. District Court, cites Carter's music video for the song "Encore," in which he flashes the symbol to the audience.
The suit also asks for any profits that Carter reaped through his use of the diamond signal.
Gallegos says the complaint stems from consumers' confusion over who owns the rights to the hand symbol, which his client has used to sell clothes, action figures and other merchandise for nearly a decade.
"Diamond Dallas Page has been experiencing a lot of confusion, and some people have suggested that he actually borrowed it from Jay-Z," Gallegos said. "We hope to fix that."
DDP WINS IMO, Jz hella jacked that hand symbol from ddp no question about it..... question is how much loot does ddp get?
