Pharrell Williams and producer Chad Hugo, known as The Neptunes, are now in a legal fight over their group’s name.
Hugo accused Williams of fraudulently trying to take control of the trademarks without his consent.
The duo, friends since childhood, made many hits like Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” and Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl together in the early 2000s .” and were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2022.
Hugo’s lawyer, Kenneth D. Freundlich, said, “Throughout their over thirty-year history, [Hugo] and Williams agreed to, and in fact, have divided all assets.”
He claims Williams registering trademarks for ‘The Neptunes’ without including Hugo is “fraud” and “bad faith.”
Pharrell’s spokesperson responded, “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.”
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