Kanye West Sues Over Bitcoin's 'Coinye West'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- "Coinye West," a digital currency that popped up in the Bitcoin mode, has Kanye West fit to be tied.
As WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported, the rapper filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Manhattan federal court against the creators of Bitcoin, charging trademark and publicity violations.
Kanye West Sues Over Bitcoin's 'Coinye West'
The virtual currency's creators are using a cartoon image of a coin featuring the rapper in large sunglasses.
The suit claims the defendants have admittedly traded on the name of the most famous entertainer and brand name in the world.
It seeks to stop companies and individuals that have not yet been identified from exchanging the digital currency. The lawsuit also seeks unspecified damages for hurting West's reputation.
The defendants have admitted in interviews that they'd love it if Kanye would name drop Coinye, but they don't want to pay him to do it, Cornell reported.
The lawsuit claims the entrepreneurs boasted that the currency can't be stopped, whether it "looks like a dollar, a dog or a cartoon picture of a rapper."
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