A stage-name dispute that was apparently headed toward a private resolution has instead landed in federal court. The company that controls Outkast’s trademarks sued Oakland rapper-producer Ovrkast last week, alleging he kept using his name after agreeing to change it.
High Schoolers LLC filed the complaint against Ovrkast, whose real name is Silas Wilson, on Sept. 16 in the Northern District of Georgia. The federal docket confirms the trademark case and identifies the company as the plaintiff. According to AllHipHop, Outkast’s attorneys initially sent Wilson a cease-and-desist in June 2025 before the two sides reached an agreement that would have him retire OVRKAST and begin using OVERKXST instead.
The complaint claims that switch was supposed to happen by July 15, 2026. Outkast alleges Wilson missed the deadline and continued releasing music under his original name. A Sept. 10 single, “Knock,” still appeared under Ovrkast, according to KQED.
The filing also points to Wilson’s own comments about confusion between the two names. In a 2025 Rolling Stone interview cited in the lawsuit, he acknowledged that people sometimes mix up their names. “They read Ovrkast [as] Outkast,” he said. “They’re like, oh my God, I thought they said Outkast.” Outkast’s attorneys are using that admission to support their argument that the similarity can mislead listeners.
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Ovrkast Says He Thought It Was Love
Wilson didn't sound thrilled when news of the lawsuit hit social media. He reacted with “Ouch” on X before posting about the case on Instagram. “I thought it was love @andre3000 @bigboi (yes this is real),” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Outkast is asking the court to stop Wilson from using OVRKAST or another confusingly similar name. The lawsuit also seeks damages tied to the alleged infringement. According to the complaint, Wilson received a breach notice in August after failing to complete the agreed transition.
The dispute is not Outkast’s first recent fight over its intellectual property. The duo sued electronic act ATLiens in 2024 over a name taken from Outkast’s 1996 album ATLiens. That case was settled in February 2026. The new lawsuit remains pending before U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross in Georgia, with Outkast requesting a jury trial.
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