OutKast, the iconic hip-hop duo of André 3000 and Big Boi, has filed a federal trademark infringement lawsuit against bass music duo ATLiens.
The famously masked electronic group shares a name with OutKast’s 1996 sophomore album, ATLiens, and its namesake single, one of the rap group’s most famous songs.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in a Georgia federal court by High Schoolers LLC, a trademark holding company controlled by Outkast’s members, alleges that the name—a hybrid of “aliens” and their hometown of Atlanta—is an original creation of the hip-hop group, and that the electronic duo, which is also from Atlanta, is confusing fans by using it, Billboard reports.
“The word ATLiens was invented by OutKast,” the suit argues. “Before OutKast created it, it was not used in the cultural lexicon and did not exist. Defendant’s use of the ATLiens mark is likely to cause confusion, to cause mistake, or to deceive the public.”
According to OutKast’s lawyers, ATLiens began using the name in 2012 and registered it as a trademark in 2020, therefore infringing on OutKast’s previous trademark of the name, which it has owned since the track’s release in 1996. In the lawsuit, OutKast claims that it did not know about the electronic duo until recently.
The suit goes on to contend that the two names are “identical” and are used for the same purpose, in this case, referencing Atlanta-based music duos who perform in “related musical genres.”
The lawsuit also argues that ATLiens’ on-stage costumes and anonymity cause additional confusion: “The duo comprising defendant performs with masks on, thereby concealing their identities such that consumers will mistakenly believe that the members of Defendant are one and the same with—or at least somehow connected to—plaintiff.”
OutKast says it attempted to “negotiate an amicable resolution to the dispute,” but ATLiens has continued to use the name in “confusing ways,” according to Billboard, such as a poster design for their upcoming hometown show that bears resemblance to another poster used by OutKast. The electronic duo is also known to play the “ATLiens” track during their live performances.
ATLiens has not yet publicly commented on the lawsuit.
Featured image from ATLiens. Credit: Drue Pines.
