Drake has reportedly failed in his bid to copyright the phrase ‘Certified Lover Boy’ ahead of releasing his album of the same name.
The upcoming sixth studio album from the Canadian rapper is scheduled to arrive before the year’s end, with the first track from the album – ‘Laugh Now Cry Later‘ – arriving last Friday (August 14).
However, Complex reports that Drake’s lawyer attempted to secure the copyright for the title as far back as February, attempting to take control of the phrase for music recordings, TV, movie and live events, and clothing.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has since denied the application for “likelihood of confusion” based on two factors.
The first states that the name is too similar to Lover’s Lane, a Michigan-based clothing brand that initially registered the trademark for ‘Loverboy’. The trademark office deemed that Drake’s album title was too close to the clothing brand.
According to the second part of their reasoning, the title of Drake’s upcoming project could be also confused for Canadian rock band Loverboy, who have owned the trademark for their name since 1984.
“Both parties provide various clothing identical in part and otherwise closely related,” USPTO trademark attorney Tamara Frazier said.
Drake is still permitted to release the album under the title and release merchandise bearing its title.
Last week, it was rumoured that Drake would be teaming up with Bruno Mars.
In July, an engineer working on the follow-up to 2018’s ‘Scorpion’ also said that the new album was 90% complete.
While ‘Laugh Now Cry Later’ marks one of just a few singles Drake has released of his own this year, he has been providing a staggering amount of features for various artists. 2020 has seen him link up with the likes of Lil Yachty, DaBaby, Popcaan, Future, Partynextdoor and DJ Khaled.
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