Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and his business partner sued Boston Red Sox baseball player David Ortiz Thursday for naming a Dominican Republic nightclub after their chain of 40/40 Club sports bar lounges.
Jay-Z and Juan Perez own 40/40 Clubs in New York City, Atlantic City and Las Vegas and have plans to open further venues in Tokyo and Macau.
They have accused Ortiz of trading on the fame, value and goodwill of their name through his club Forty/Forty and its website, www.fortyforty.net, which they say has caused their business "marketplace confusion and damage," the lawsuit said.
"David Ortiz is fully aware of plaintiff's Manhattan 40/40 Club, since he had been a patron there on several occasions long before he opened his infringing Forty/Forty Club," said the lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court.
Ortiz had no immediate comment on the lawsuit.