The rapper known as 50
Cent (Curtis Jackson) is suing Taco Bell, for trademark infringement, alleging
that the restaurant drafted a fake letter allegedly asking Jackson to change
his name to “79 Cent,” “89 Cent” or “99 Cent” in order to publicize its
“79-89-99 Cent Why Pay More Value Menu.”
Purportedly, Taco Bell
released the letter to the national press in June before sending it to Jackson,
“Simply put, Taco Bell knew that it would likely have had to pay Jackson a
multi-million-dollar fee to get his endorsement, even if he had agreed to do it
— which is in doubt,” says the suit, which was filed by Reed Smith’s Peter D.
Raymond and Wallace B. Neel. “Rather than face rejection or pay fair value,
Taco Bell chose to steal his endorsement and to enjoy all the publicity of
being associated with a mega-star while bearing none of the costs.”
A spokesman for Taco Bell said: “We made a good faith, charitable offer to 50 Cent to change his name to either 79, 89 or 99 Cent for one day by rapping his order at a Taco Bell, and we would have been very pleased to make the $10,000 donation to the charity of his choice.”
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