Outkast suing Atlanta EDM duo over 'ATLiens' name
Big Boi and Andre 3000 of Outkast perform at One MusicFest at Lakewood Amphitheatre on September 10, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Prince Williams/WireImage)
ATLANTA - Iconic rap group Outkast is suing another Atlanta-based duo over who has the rights to the name "ATLiens."
High Schoolers LLC, the trademark holding company established by rappers Antwan Patton, aka Big Boi, and Andre Benjamin, better known as Andre 3000, filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on Aug. 20.
In the lawsuit obtained by FOX 5, the group claims that the Atlanta-based electronic dance music duo ATLiens has been using the name for years without permission.
OutKast says the word was invented by them nearly 30 years ago for their sophomore album of the same name.
"The word ATLiens was invented by Outkast. Before Outkast created it, it was not used in the cultural lexicon and did not exist," the lawsuit said before going on to point to multiple performances and pieces of merchandise of theirs that have referenced the word.
Years after the album, the lawsuit claims that ATLiens picked the name "to trade upon the tremendous fame and goodwill associated with Plaintiff’s ATLiens album, song, and mark, or, at a minimum, to call to consumers’ minds Plaintiff’s famous ATLiens album, song, and mark."
The dance group also trademarked the name in 2020 for music compositions, production, entertainment services, and other business actions, a move that OutKast says goes against their common law rights established years before.
Outkast also took exception to the fact that ATLiens perform in masks, which they claimed hides their identities in a way that "consumers will mistakenly believe that the members of Defendant are one and the same with — or at least somehow connected to — Plaintiff."
While representatives for Big Boi and Andre 3000 have tried to negotiate a resolution with the EDM group, they say that ATLiens have continued to use the name and have promoted an upcoming show in Atlanta with a poster that's "mimicking advertisements for Outkast's 20th-anniversary show.
An example from the lawsuit
Outkast is asking for a jury trial to force ATLiens to stop using their name, dissolve their trademark, and pay their attorneys' fees.