(DIME Media) In a setback for rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson in his lawsuit against the producers of The Infamous Times - Volume I: The Original 50 Cent, on July 20, 2005, a federal court in Los Angeles denied his motion for an injunction against further distribution of the critically acclaimed and double-platinum selling DVD and refused his request that he be given an accounting of the DVD's sales to date. Jackson alleged that the use of the words "50 Cent" in the DVD's title infringed on his trademark. However, the court held that it was likely that Czar Entertainment would prevail in its defense that the use of "50 Cent" in the title was legitimate under federal trademark law. The court also found that it was unlikely that consumers would believe that the rapper had produced the DVD or was otherwise responsible for its distribution.
The rapper also claimed that the producers included his interview detailing how and why he took the name "50 Cent" in the DVD without honoring a verbal agreement he alleged they made with him to pay what he otherwise would have been paid to appear in the DVD to the family of Kelvin "50 Cent" Martin - the Brooklyn gangster whose name and persona Jackson adopted. The court ruled that, even if that claim was true, it did not justify halting distribution of the DVD.
Immediately after Jackson filed his suit, however, Patricia Martin, Kelvin's aunt, issued a statement on behalf of the family stating their disappointment with Jackson over his having reneged on a previously made offer to contribute funds towards the purchase of a headstone for her nephew, who was murdered in 1987. "Czar Entertainment has kept their word on everything
they contributed a headstone for Kelvin's grave and, based on the sales of the DVD, we are expecting a donation to be made to our family. Our relationship with them is solid and we do not support Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson's allegations of misrepresentation," said Patricia.
In response to the court's ruling, Jimmy "Henchmen" Rosemond, CEO of Czar Entertainment and manager of Aftermath/Interscope recording artist The Game, said: "We are gratified that the court found that there was nothing improper in the DVD's title or the way in which we are marketing it. We remain convinced that there is absolutely no merit to Curtis Jackson's lawsuit and that it should never have been filed. We believe it was filed more as an attempt to further his childish campaign of jealousy against The Game and his management than to vindicate any legitimate legal rights."
