Key Takeaways
- C+C Music Factory co-founder Robert Clivillés sued Freedom Williams, alleging the former featured artist used the group's name without authorization for three decades.
- Clivillés claims the name refers exclusively to him and late co-founder David Cole and says a 1996 estate agreement made him the brand's sole authorized user.
- The nine-count lawsuit seeks up to $30 million in trademark damages, cancellation of William' C&C Music Factory registration, and an injunction following the unauthorized 2026 release "Into the Future."
C+C Music Factory co-founder Robert Clivillés has claimed that his longtime creative partner, Frederick "Freedom" Williams, spent three decades trading on a name he was never entitled to use. Now the musician is suing him.
Clivillés filed a nine-count federal complaint against Williams and affiliated companies in the Eastern District of New York on August 14, according to court filings. The complaint seeks compensatory damages of at least $10 million, with treble damages under the Lanham Act bringing the total trademark claim to $30 million, plus punitive damages under New York law.
Clivillés is also asking the court to cancel USPTO Registration No. 4775972, a trademark in the C&C Music Factory name currently held by Williams' company Freedom Williams Entertainment, LLC, and to issue permanent injunctive relief.
At the core of the case is a dispute over who actually owns the C+C Music Factory name. The complaint argues the initials stand for Clivillés and Cole, referring exclusively to Robert Clivillés and the late David Cole, who created the group together in New York City in 1990. Clivillés points to an October 4, 1996 Estate Settlement Agreement with Cole's estate, under which he became the sole authorized user of the name and brand.
Williams is characterized in the complaint as a featured guest artist on specific C+C Music Factory recordings rather than a founder or co-owner. The complaint notes that Zelma Davis, Martha Wash, and Deborah Cooper were also featured guest vocalists on various recordings, alongside six additional background and guest artists.
Per the court filing, Williams was released from his Cole and Clivillés production contract around June 29, 1992 to pursue a solo career on Sony Music. After that solo career stalled commercially, the complaint alleges, he began performing as C+C Music Factory around 1996 without any authorization from Clivillés, collecting between $5,000 and $10,000 per show worldwide over the years that followed.
The most recent alleged infringement cited in the complaint is a June 2026 recording titled "Into the Future," released under the C+C Music Factory trademark through Big Mac Entertainment, LLC without Clivillés's authorization. The complaint further alleges Williams fraudulently obtained trademark registrations in a name that refers to two other people entirely.
The nine counts span trademark infringement, false designation of origin, trademark cancellation, fraud on the USPTO, unfair competition, unjust enrichment, fraud, defamation, and breach of contract.
