Jay-Z Scores Diversity Commitment In Trademark Infringement Case

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Honoree Jay-Z accepts the President's Merit Award onstage during the Clive Davis and Recording Academy Pre-GRAMMY Gala and GRAMMY Salute to Industry Icons Honoring Jay-Z on January 27, 2018 in New York City.
Jay-Z is victorious in his battle for diversity from the AAA.

Jay-Z has been in a legal battle against Iconix Brand Group who sued the rapper in May for trademark infringement. The rapper and his company Roc Nation were accused of using their logo on the merchandise of the Major League Baseball franchise. The rapper and his legal team demanded a halt to an arbitration with Iconix Brand Group, citing a lack of diversity at the American Arbitration Association. The move from Hov and his legal team has forced the AAA to make the commitment to increase the diversity among their list of arbitrators.

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jay-Z has been granted his lack of diversity claim in his trademark infringement lawsuit with Iconix Brand Group. On Sunday, Hov's lawyer Alex Spiro ended the temporary restraining order and began with arbitration following the AAA's decision to commit to increasing the diversity of their list.

"While the information AAA provided has confirmed that AAA lacks an appreciable number of minority (and particularly, African-American) arbitrators, AAA has indicated an openness both to an arbitrator selection process in this Arbitration that will allow for meaningful consideration of African-American arbitrators and to broader remedial measures intended to improve the diversity of the arbitrator roster for future arbitrations," Spiro wrote in a letter. 

Iconic previously attacked Jay-Z's diversity claim as being a "charade."


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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