Rihanna files lawsuit against father over use of Fenty name
Pop star Rihanna is suing her father for allegedly violating her trademark by using her last name without her permission. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in California, Rihanna, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, claims her father Ronald Fenty and his business partner Moses Joktan Perkins are misusing the Fenty name for their own business endeavors.
The singer trademarked the name in 2014 for her successful Fenty Beauty line.
The lawsuit alleges Ronald Fenty created a company called Fenty Entertainment "in a fraudulent effort to solicit millions of dollars from unsuspecting third parties in exchange for false promise that they were authorized to act on Rihanna's behalf, and/or that Rihanna would perform at various locations throughout the world." The singer's attorneys wrote that Rihanna's companies have no affiliation with her father's business.
Rihanna claims her father and his co-defendants accepted a deal for her to perform 15 shows in Latin America for $15 million, as well as additional shows in the U.S. for $400,000, all without her permission.
The lawsuit says Ronald Fenty also tried to trademark the Fenty name with the U.S. Parent and Trademark office in 2018, but was turned down.
Rihanna's legal team repeatedly sent cease-and-desist orders to her father prior to the lawsuit, all of which they said were ignored. She has requested an injunction against her father to stop using the Fenty name, as well as unspecified damages.
