C+C Music Factory Founder Sues Freedom Williams in $30 Million Trademark Lawsuit
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- Robert Clivillés filed a federal trademark infringement and fraud suit against Freedom Williams on Friday, seeking at least $30 million in damages and demanding Williams stop using the C+C Music Factory name.
- The lawsuit asserts the name refers exclusively to Clivillés and the late David Cole (died 1995 at age 32), who co-created the group in New York in 1990 and signed a Sony deal before working with any contributing artists.
- Williams, who rapped on "Gonna Make You Sweat" and "Things That Make You Go Hmmm…," signed on as a "featured vocalist for hire, not a member" under a production contract that ended in 1992, the filing claims.
- Williams obtained a "C&C MUSIC FACTORY" trademark in 2015 after allegedly misrepresenting himself as sole owner (an earlier 2005 filing was canceled in 2012); Clivillés has been challenging it since 2016.
- Williams allegedly collected $5,000 to $10,000 per unauthorized show worldwide and released a new C+C Music Factory track, "Into the Future," in June of this year.
- The May "toilet video" — in which Williams invoked Adolf Hitler, used racial slurs, and claimed C+C would perform at President Trump's Freedom 250 concert series (later scrapped) — was the tipping point for the lawsuit, according to the filing.
Why it matters: If Clivillés wins, he reclaims a brand Williams has monetized through $5,000–$10,000 unauthorized shows worldwide and a 2015 trademark Clivillés has challenged since 2016. Williams faces at least $30 million in damages and loses the right to perform under the C+C Music Factory name, with the case testing whether featured vocalists can claim ownership of a producer-driven brand.
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