LL Cool J is ready for a legal fight.
According to court documents obtained The Blast, the rapper/actor has filed a lawsuit against the people behind Rock the Bells—a now-defunct hip-hop festival founded by Chang Weisberg. LL claims the event's founder and promoter Guerilla Union, Inc. attempted to trademark "Rock the Bells" in 2004, nearly two decades after LL released a single by the same name. The suit alleges Weisberg and Guerilla Union's filed for the trademark without receiving his permission; so LL reportedly petitioned the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to cancel all of Guerilla Union’s trademarks—a request that was granted in 2017.
LL said the dispute didn't end there. Even after the board ruled in the entertainer's favor, LL claimed Weisberg and Guerilla Union made continuous efforts to trademark "Rock the Bells" for various purposes. He is now asking a judge to grant an injunction prohibiting the promoter and founder from using the name. LL is suing for unspecified damages.
"Rock the Bells" was the third single off LL's 1985 debut album Radio. Back in March, he also launched Rock the Bells Radio—a SiriusXM channel dedicated entirely to hip-hop.
