LL Cool J Sues "Rock The Bells" Festival Promoter Over Name Use: Report

LL Cool J accuses the company of ripping off the name of his hit record for their festival.

BYAron A.Nov 27, 20182.8K Views

LL Cool J is taking a festival promoter to court over the use of their name. The rapper filed a lawsuit against Guerilla Union Inc., the promoters behind "Rock The Bells" festival, accusing them of ripping off the name of his 1985 hit song, the Blast reports. The rapper has asked the judge to stop the promoters from using his hit single for the annual festival which ran from 2004-2013.

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LL Cool J filed a lawsuit against Guerilla Union Inc. and the company's founder Chang Weisberg who the legendary rapper accuses of trademarking "Rock The Bells" in 2004. He alleged that Weisberg and Guerilla Union Inc. filed for the trademark for the hip-hop festival without proper authorization from LL Cool J or his camp. Along with his 1985 single, LL Cool J launched a SiriusXM radio channel called "Rock The Bells" earlier this year.

LL Cool J claims that he requested that the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board put a halt to all of Guerilla Union's trademarks. The board ultimately granted LL Cool J his wish last year. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for the concert promoter to stop as LL Cool J accuses them continuously attempting to trademark the name for other purposes.

The legendary rapper has demanded that the judge permit an injunction stopping Guerilla Union Inc from using the name of his song as well as for unspecified damages.

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Aron A.

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.