Beyoncé’s legal team got into formation against the Feyonce, Inc. for using her name to promote their fiancee-geared products, back in April of 2016. At the time, papers were filed in a New York federal court claiming that the items bearing “Feyonce” infringe on her trademarked name.
Among the products for sale from the Texas-based company included sweatshirts, tees, hoodies that bear the name “Feyonce” as well as a coffee mug with the phrase “He put a ring on it,” which appears to be a reference to the viral one-liner from Bey’s 2008 chart-topper “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).”
“Defendants adopted the Feyonce mark to call to mind Beyoncé and her famous song. Defendants’ conduct described herein is intentional, fraudulent, malicious, willful and wanton,” the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, read. One of the defendants, Andre Maurice, also reportedly registered two trademarks under the Feyonce name, one with an accented “e” and one without.
Now, over a year later, Feyonce Inc. responded to the trademark lawsuit to the folks over at The Blast. Feyonce says they are merely a t-shirt company which targets engaged couples. They say their website had no mention or images of Beyoncé, and didn’t pretend to associate with her in any way.
Feyonce stresses, Beyoncé “is not entitled to handouts simply because she is famous,” adding “she wants to bully us and take what is rightfully ours.”
As for the Feyonce name, the company explains it’s just the phonetic way of pronouncing “fiancé.”
In perhaps a passive aggressive shot at the Beyhive, Feyonce says “Beyonce products consist of expensive products with sophisticated consumers,” and “this factor weighs against a likelihood of confusion because the customers are highly sophisticated and would exercise heightened care before purchasing the goods of defendants.”
I just hope Feyonce is prepared for the lashing they are about to get from Queen Bey’s legal team as well as the Beyhive. They tried it.
