According to a source, the rapper and the record label have 45 days to re-open a claim if any party chooses to do so.
- Jul 11, 2018
AceShowbiz - Rapper Jay-Z is reportedly in negotiations to settle a lawsuit over his Roc Nation trademark.
The hip-hop mogul sold the rights to his clothing line Rocawear for $204 million (£153.9 million) in 2007 to Iconix Brand Group bosses, who also own the branding rights for labels including Ed Hardy, Mossimo and Mark Ecko.
Executives claimed in May, 2017 that their exclusive rights were violated by a line of designer Major League Baseball (MLB) caps, T-shirts and hoodies featuring the Roc Nation trademark.
The 99 Problems hitmaker was named in the lawsuit along with officials at Roc Nation, New Era, LIDS, and Major League Baseball team the San Francisco Giants, with Iconix Brand Group chiefs suing each of them for $10 million (£7.5 million) for using the logo without their consent.
Jay-Z, 48, subsequently countersued, arguing the 2007 sale of Rocawear did not include anything to do with Roc Nation, because the brand had yet to be established.
According to The Blast, the parties are now close to reaching an undisclosed settlement. They have 45 days to re-open a claim if any party chooses to do so.
Meanwhile, Iconix bosses are under investigation for allegedly violating federal securities laws in their financial reporting of Rocawear's accounts.
The case relates to a $169 million (£127.5 million) write-down in Rocawear's value in March, 2016 and another drop earlier this year (18), when Iconix chiefs announced they were taking another $34 million (£25.6 million) off the market price of their asset.
Jay-Z, who insisted he knew nothing about the company officials' business practices, was forced to sit for a deposition over the matter in May (18), but Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials previously made it clear their desire to question the rapper "does not reflect a determination" that he "has violated provisions of the federal securities laws at issue in the investigation".
