Once again, the Weeknd is in legal hot water, and this time Abel Tesfaye is being sued over his Starboy comic book.
According to a newly filed lawsuit, the idea for the Weeknd's 2018 comic book was stolen from a man named Eymun Talasazan, TMZ reports. Talasazan alleges he created a comic book in 2014 that revolved around rap and R&B stars, and he had meetings with the Weeknd's team in 2017 about folding the singer's "Starboy" alter ego into the comic series. Of course, by this time the Weeknd already had released his 2016 album Starboy and its hit title track.
While the meetings reportedly took place between the two parties, Talasazan said they never struck up a working relationship, with the alleged comic writer also filing for a trademark of "Starboy" as a comic book hero. Apparently, Tesfaye's team became aware of this filing and attempted to block it.
Despite all this, the Weeknd did debut his own Starboy comic book this year, released in connection with Marvel Comics. According to Talasazan's lawsuit, the book has a "near identical premise" as the one he pitched the Weeknd's camp a year earlier, TMZ reports.
Adding an extra layer to all this, Talasazan claims he began working with the late Marvel icon Stan Lee in 2016 on a story arc and additional characters in his own comic universe.
As a Forbes piece from April of this year reveals, however, this is not Talasazan first trademark lawsuit. According to the report, he previously filed trademarks for "Straight Outta Bombton" and "Runnin' Through the 6" in an attempt to financially capitalize on N.W.A and Drake, respectively.
Furthermore, that story does not name him as a comic book writer but rather a real estate agent. Dig even deeper, and it seems that Talasazan was listed as the real estate agent on a house deal for Stan Lee back in 2015 when the Marvel head was selling his Hollywood Hills home.
Speaking to TMZ, Talasazan's lawyer Kirk Schenck said, "We are not sure why Marvel and/or the Weeknd's representatives failed to file any trademark application for the use of Starboy for comic books and film/TV projects. If they really intended to use this word to identify goods or services in the comic book or film/TV classifications, they certainly should have."
In the lawsuit, Talasazan is suing the Weeknd for trademark infringement, and the comic creator even wants all copies of the Canadian singer's comic book recalled, impounded and destroyed.
As of press time, the Weeknd's team has not publicly commented on the lawsuit, but his lawyers did previously point out Talasazan's past trademark attempts against Drake and N.W.A.
As previously reported, the Weeknd and collaborators Daft Punk were also sued for allegedly stealing the song "Starboy" as well.
According to a newly filed lawsuit, the idea for the Weeknd's 2018 comic book was stolen from a man named Eymun Talasazan, TMZ reports. Talasazan alleges he created a comic book in 2014 that revolved around rap and R&B stars, and he had meetings with the Weeknd's team in 2017 about folding the singer's "Starboy" alter ego into the comic series. Of course, by this time the Weeknd already had released his 2016 album Starboy and its hit title track.
While the meetings reportedly took place between the two parties, Talasazan said they never struck up a working relationship, with the alleged comic writer also filing for a trademark of "Starboy" as a comic book hero. Apparently, Tesfaye's team became aware of this filing and attempted to block it.
Despite all this, the Weeknd did debut his own Starboy comic book this year, released in connection with Marvel Comics. According to Talasazan's lawsuit, the book has a "near identical premise" as the one he pitched the Weeknd's camp a year earlier, TMZ reports.
Adding an extra layer to all this, Talasazan claims he began working with the late Marvel icon Stan Lee in 2016 on a story arc and additional characters in his own comic universe.
As a Forbes piece from April of this year reveals, however, this is not Talasazan first trademark lawsuit. According to the report, he previously filed trademarks for "Straight Outta Bombton" and "Runnin' Through the 6" in an attempt to financially capitalize on N.W.A and Drake, respectively.
Furthermore, that story does not name him as a comic book writer but rather a real estate agent. Dig even deeper, and it seems that Talasazan was listed as the real estate agent on a house deal for Stan Lee back in 2015 when the Marvel head was selling his Hollywood Hills home.
Speaking to TMZ, Talasazan's lawyer Kirk Schenck said, "We are not sure why Marvel and/or the Weeknd's representatives failed to file any trademark application for the use of Starboy for comic books and film/TV projects. If they really intended to use this word to identify goods or services in the comic book or film/TV classifications, they certainly should have."
In the lawsuit, Talasazan is suing the Weeknd for trademark infringement, and the comic creator even wants all copies of the Canadian singer's comic book recalled, impounded and destroyed.
As of press time, the Weeknd's team has not publicly commented on the lawsuit, but his lawyers did previously point out Talasazan's past trademark attempts against Drake and N.W.A.
As previously reported, the Weeknd and collaborators Daft Punk were also sued for allegedly stealing the song "Starboy" as well.
