Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo are currently battling each other in a legal dispute over the group’s name, according to reports.
The legendary duo who produced some of music’s biggest hits such as “Hot in Herre,” by Nelly, Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl”, are seemingly not seeing eye to eye after Hugo accused Williams of “fraudulently” seeking sole control over the trademarks, as reported on Billboard.
“Throughout their over thirty year history, [Hugo] and Williams agreed to, and in fact, have divided all assets,” wrote Hugo’s attorney Kenneth D. Freundlich. “By ignoring and excluding [Hugo] from the any and all applications filed by applicant for the mark ‘The Neptunes,’ applicant has committed fraud in securing the trademarks and acted in bad faith.”
A rep for Pharrell says the producer had no “ill intent” by filing the trademark. “Pharrell is surprised by this. We have reached out on multiple occasions to share in the ownership and administration of the trademark and will continue to make that offer. The goal here was to make sure a third party doesn’t get a hold of the trademark and to guarantee Chad and Pharrell share in ownership and administration.”
Hopefully the two can come to a resolution. We’ll keep you updated as this continues to develop.