Jay-Z and David Ortiz have reportedly agreed to settle the multimillion dollar trademark infringement lawsuit that the music mogul levied against the baseball player earlier this year. With the agreement, Ortiz has agreed to re-name his Dominican Republican-based Forty-Forty club and cease promotion of the nightspot.
The judge presiding over the case threatened the Red Sox player and ordered him to either respond to the lawsuit or face a default judgment. Ortiz then sent an attorney in his behalf and told the judge that he wished to settle the suit.
According to the New York Post, Philip Touitou, told the judge that Ortiz is offering to stop calling the club owned by him and his sister “Forty Forty” and to pull down fortyforty.net, the website promoting the venue.
In the legal documents that were filed in Manhattan Federal Court, Jay-Z and his business partners claimed that Ortiz opened a club in his native country and named it Forty-Forty in an attempt to bank off of their trademark name’s “fame, value, and goodwill.” They also allege that the similarity in the clubs names has caused “marketplace confusion and damage.”
Jay-Z’s 40/40 clubs, which get their name from the baseball milestone of hitting 40 home runs and stealing 40 bases in one season, are currently located throughout the States, and according to rumors, the brand is looking to expand overseas.